
Class ____^__ 

Book_ __ 




jL'Mf£Ct&/: 



* ■ 

MEMOIRS 



THE LIFE AND WRITINGS 



OF 



MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER, Esq. 

M.P. F.R.S. &c. 

\ 



PUBLISHED BY R. B. SEELEY AND W. BURNSIDE 
AND SOLD BY L. AND G. SEELEY, 
FLEET STREET, LONDON. 
MDCCCXLIL 



J}/ 






PRINTED BY 
L. AND G. SEELEY, THAMES DITTON, SURREY. 



PREFACE. 



The present volume is offered to the public with 
mingled feelings of confidence and distrust: confi- 
dence, when considering the truth, and value, and 
extreme importance of the views advocated : distrust, 
when recollecting the peculiar disadvantages under 
which the work has been performed. 

The purpose of attempting to furnish the public 
with some kind of a connected view of the plans and 
principles of Mr. Sadler, was formed immediately 
after his decease; that is, in the autumn of 1835. 
The lapse of so long a period as has since intervened., 
may naturally be held to deprive the writer of all 
excuse for inaccuracies, or other faults in the per- 



VI PREFACE. 

formance ; and to render him justly responsible for 
the production of a well-considered and carefully 
prepared work. 

It is on this point that he wishes to offer a 
single remark. He desires to explain, that although 
more than six years have passed away since the pur- 
pose was formed, the time actually spent over the 
present volume has scarcely exceeded an equal num- 
ber of months. 

This has arisen from various causes, but mainly 
from the pressure of other literary duties, which 
seemed of a more urgent character. Very soon after 
the plan of the present work was formed, a duty of 
another but kindred description appeared to be cast 
upon the writer ; and it was accordingly undertaken 
and discharged. At two subsequent periods the like 
again occurred. The reason for postponing the 
Memoir of Mr. Sadler in each case was the same, — 
that something like an urgent call of duty suggested 
itself, in the preparation of those works, which did 
not appear so clearly to exist, in point of time, in 
the case of this Memoir. 

It will be perceived that the writer has thus again 
and again shewn, in the strongest manner, his confi- 
dence in the great value and importance of the topics 



PREFACE. Vll 



discussed in the present work ; evincing repeatedly, 
his conviction, that the lapse of years would scarcely 
affect the worth of the book, or its just claim to popu- 
larity. He has still further exhibited this confidence, 
by permitting the work to incur the injury necessarily 
attendant on such an unusual and disadvantageous 
mode of composition. 

No one accustomed to such a task, will undervalue 
the disadvantage of writing such a Memoir as the 
present by piecemeal; composing a chapter — then 
laying it wholly aside — taking up a totally different 
subject, and not returning to the work for six or even 
nine months. Such has been the way in which the 
present volume has been formed ; and no one can be 
more sensible of the faults which must necessarily 
accompany such a mode of dealing with the subject, 
than is the writer. 

It will necessarily, he apprehends, be often found 
that the same idea, and probably in the same words, is 
repeated again and again. Equally probable is it, that 
important points of an argument, supposed by him to 
have been premised, are no where to be seen. Such 
errors and misfortunes as these seem inherent in such 
a system of composition, except the author were able 
to retain all that he had written in his mind, or were 



Vlll PREFACE. 



continually re-perusing the portions which had been 
completed. 

It is needless, however, to dilate upon these cir- 
cumstances. Deeply sensible of the many faults of 
the work, both in these and many other respects, the 
writer still reverts with hope to that which has encou- 
raged him throughout his labour ; — the solid, substan- 
tial, and all-important character of the truths con- 
tained in this history. It was a deep and thorough 
conviction of their weight and value, which first 
impelled him to the undertaking. Made still more 
aware than ever before, in the progress of the work, 
of his own deficiencies, he has also been more and 
more confirmed in his attachment to these truths. 
He believes them to be essentially and indissolubly 
connected with the well-being of the country ; and in 
that belief he commends them to the calm considera- 
tion of all who feel an interest in her prosperity. 

There is, however, one class, and that far from an 
unimportant one, at whose hands they will receive 
nothing of the kind. He alludes, of course, to a certain 
set of persons, who, with great activity and self-com- 
placency, are accustomed on all occasions to present 
themselves to the public notice, as possessing an 
exclusive claim to the title of " Political Economists." 



PREFACE. IX 

By this entire body it was Mr. Sadler's fate to be 
constantly followed with misrepresentation, vehement 
abuse, and affected contempt. And their united 
efforts, though they could neither prevent the enact- 
ment of a Poor Law for Ireland, nor rescue the Mal- 
thusian theory from utter ruin ; still effected at least 
this minor mischief, that they prevented the author of 
both these good works from receiving, in his lifetime, 
that meed of public gratitude which was his due. In 
the present instance, except in so far as the insignifi- 
cance of the writer may protect him, a repetition of 
the same system of disingenuousness may be expected. 
For his own part, he anticipates it with the most entire 
equanimity. He humbly trusts that the volume now 
offered to the public owes its formation in a very 
small degree indeed to any motives personal to the 
writer. Simply wishing to follow in Mr. Sadler's 
footsteps, as an expounder of the great principles 
which it was the business of his life to enunciate, he 
is quite content — he should rather say, will be emi- 
nently happy, if he may, in any degree, share his fate ; 
at least so far as to aid in producing beneficial results, 
without desiring or receiving any personal reward. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

a. d. 1780—1800. 

PAGE 

PERIOD OF CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH ... 1 



CHAPTER II. 

a. d. 1800—1818. 
EARLIER YEARS AT LEEDS . . . . .12 



CHAPTER III. 

a.d. 1819—1826. 
THE FORMATION OF HIS SYSTEM . ... 32 



xii CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER IV. 

a. d. 1827, 1828. 

PAGE 

HIS WORK ON IRELAND . . . . .49 



CHAPTER V. 

a. d. 1829. 

mr. Sadler's entrance into parliament, and 
HIS SPEECHES on the catholic relief bill 91 



CHAPTER VI. 

a. d. 1829. 
REMAINDER OP HIS FIRST SESSION IN PARLIAMENT 125 



CHAPTER VII. 

the vacation of 1829 — mr. Sadler's work on 
population 150 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE SESSION OF 1830 — MOTION FOR A POOR LAW 

IN IRELAND— DISSOLUTION— NEW PARLIAMENT ^00 



CONTENTS. xill 



CHAPTER IX. 

PAGE 



THE SESSION OF 1830-31 — THE REFORM BILL . 221 



CHAPTER X. 

SECOND MOTION FOR A POOR LAW IN IRELAND — 
WITHDRAWMENT OF HIS MIND FROM POLITICS 
— MOTION ON THE STATE OF THE AGRICULTURAL 
LABOURERS 264 



CHAPTER XL 

a. d. 1831—2. 
THE CASE OF THE FACTORY CHILDREN . . 336 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE NEW POOR LAW OF 1834 . . . . 412 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE CORN LAWS 445 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THE CURRENCY . 477 



XIV CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XV. 

PAGE 

ON THE NATIONAL ECONOMY OF THE ISRAELITES 503 



CHAPTER XVI. 

CLOSE OF HIS LIFE — PERSONAL CHARACTER . . 540 



CHAPTER XVII. 

SUMMARY OF HIS SYSTEM 567 



APPENDIX 623 



MEMOIRS 



ETC. ETC, 



CHAPTER I. 

A. D. 1780—1800. 
PERIOD OF CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH. 

The history of the Life of Michael Thomas 
Sadler must be, in a great measure, a history of 
opinions, rather than of events. The chief circum- 
stances of his career, viewed without reference to 
the workings of his ever-active mind, may soon 
be told. He was born at Snelston in Derbyshire, 
in the year 1780 : he continued to reside in that 
village and in the neighboring one of Doveridge, 
until the year 1800, when he removed to Leeds. 
In 1813 he entered into partnership with the 
widow of the late Samuel Fenton, Esq. of that 
place, whose eldest daughter he married in 1816. 
In March 1829 he was returned to Parliament as 



2 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

one of the representatives for the borough of 
Newark ; for which place he was re-elected in 
July, 1830. In May, 1831, Parliament having 
been again dissolved, he was returned for the 
borough of Aldborough in Yorkshire. His con- 
nection with Parliament terminating in Decem- 
ber 1832, he removed about a year afterwards to 
Belfast in Ireland, where he continued to reside 
until his death, which occurred in July 1835, in 
the 56th year of his age. 

He was the youngest son of Mr. James Sadler, 
who appears to have been, at the time of his birth, 
residing upon and cultivating a small estate in 
the adjoining parishes of Snelston and Doveridge 
in Derbyshire. By his will he bequeaths, " all 
my freehold and copyhold estate in Doveridge, 
to my son Joseph Sadler," "and all my free- 
hold estate in Marston Montgomery, to my sons 
Benjamin and Michael Thomas Sadler." 

Mr. James Sadler, — whom family tradition al- 
ways described as a descendant of the celebrated 
Sir Ralph Sadler, of the sixteenth century, # — 
had married, in 1766, Frances, the daughter of 
the Rev. Michael Ferrebee, Rector of Rolleston 

* The probabilities of this circumstance will be considered, 
at more length than would be expedient in this place, in note A. 
in the Appendix. 



HIS CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH. 3 

in Staffordshire. Mr. Ferrebee was the son of 
an eminent French Huguenot and refugee, 
who settled in London shortly after the revo- 
cation of the edict of Nantes, and there acquired 
considerable property. Michael Ferrebee was en- 
tered at Christ Church, Oxford, where he greatly 
distinguished himself, and acquired the friend- 
ship of Swift and the chief literati of that day. 
His wife was a daughter of Henry Wrigley, Esq. 
of Langley Hall, near Middleton in Lancashire, 
whose family had resided on that property ever 
since the conquest. This estate was entailed on 
her daughter Frances, and thence to her children, 
the sons of Mr. James Sadler. 

Mrs. Sadler appears to have united the polish 
of ancient gentility derived from one parent, with 
the intellectual attainments of the other. Her 
children have never ceased to regard her memory 
with the utmost affection and admiration ; and w r e 
have heard many of those who were formerly her 
neighbours in Derbyshire, and who now survive 
her, use language of equal warmth in describing 
her character. 

Mr. Sadler had by this marriage six children, 
of whom two died in their childhood. Of those 
who survived, Michael Thomas was the youngest. 
His birth took place at Snelston, on the 3rd of 
January, 1780. 

B 2 



4 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

His faculties seem to have developed themselves 
at an early age. A taste both for drawing and 
music, manifested itself before he had reached his 
fifth year. Specimens of early talent in sketch- 
ing, made about this period of his childhood, 
have been preserved in the family ever since ; and 
at the same age, he was accustomed to find out 
a tune on the harpsichord, after having heard it 
played or sung, without the assistance of the 
printed notes. 

About the sixth year of his age, he was placed 
under the care of Mr. Harrison, a school-master 
of considerable reputation at Doveridge, and with 
him he remained till his fourteenth or fifteenth 
year. Here he acquired a competent knowledge 
of Latin and Greek, a good acquaintance with 
French, and the rudiments of Italian and German. 
But Mr. Harrison's favourite pursuit was that of 
Mathematics, in which he greatly excelled, and 
to which he naturally directed the ardent mind of 
his pupil. By the time young Sadler had com- 
pleted his eleventh year, he had gone through 
Saunderson's Algebra, calculated eclipses, found 
logarithms, and become conversant with the most 
abstruse problems in pure and practical geometry. 

At this period he became a correspondent of the 
chief scientific periodical of that day ; answering 
most of the mathematical problems proposed 



HIS CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH. 5 

through that channel. Such indeed, was his pro- 
ficiency, that at this early age, his tutor felt no 
hesitation in giving him the charge of a pupil of 
adult years, and who has since gained a distin- 
guished reputation, but who was then passing the 
college vacations at Doveridge, for the benefit of 
Mr. Harrison's advice and direction. 

At his twelfth year it was his father's intention 
to have removed him to a public school, with a 
view to his proceeding from thence to college. 
But on consulting Mr. Harrison, the tutor's fond- 
ness for his pupil caused him to use such persua- 
sions, as induced Mr. Sadler to allow him to re- 
main at Doveridge. Thus the whole plan and pros- 
pects of his life became deranged, and after remain- 
ing with Mr. Harrison till any longer stay appeared 
useless, he returned home, without any settled plan 
as to his further education or course of life. 

Left now, for two or three years, very much to 
his own choice of pursuits, it happened fortunately, 
that his father possessed a large and well-selected 
library, which had been bequeathed to him by 
Mrs. Sadler's relative, the Rev. Henry Wrigley, 
Tutor of St. John's College, Cambridge. This 
collection contained all the standard English 
authors, together with the leading Greek and 
Roman classics; and as Michael had an insa- 
tiable thirst for reading, a year or two spent 



6 LIFE OP MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

with these companions, made him familiar with 
all the best models, both ancient and modern. 

Leisure, and such a course of reading, soon 
produced one very common result, in a mind .of 
an imaginative and enthusiastic order. He begun 
to indulge in a poetic vein to a considerable ex- 
tent. He versified many of the Psalms, and pro- 
duced a poem in Spenserian verse, descriptive 
of the scenery of the river Dove. He also threw 
into heroic verse the account of Darius's feast, 
given in 1 Esdras iv. This, with some other 
pieces, he at one time intended to send to the press ; 
but discovering that Southey had anticipated him 
in the subject, he abandoned the intention. 

We have not yet adverted to his religious views 
and impressions. Of these, in his earlier years, 
no distinct record has been preserved ; but it is 
certain that the sedulous instructions of his pious 
and highly-gifted mother had not been without 
their effect. Shortly before this time, however, 
a circumstance had occurred in the history of 
Doveridge, which exercised a peculiar influence 
over the religious position of the whole of the 
family. This was, the appearance of the Wes- 
leyan Methodists in that village. 

With most intelligent persons, probably, the 
prejudice and hostility formerly awakened by the 
mention of this name has subsided. If any, how- 



HIS CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH. 7 

ever, should yet feel a rising disgust at the idea 
of contact with this despised body, we would en- 
deavour to calm the feelings of such an one, by 
the philosophical reflections of an historian who 
will not be suspected of either enthusiasm or sec- 
tarianism. 

"A hundred years ago, the churchman was 
slack in his duty, and slumbering at his post. 
It was the voice of an enthusiast that roused the 
sleeper. Truth must condemn alike the over- 
strained excitement of the one, and the untimely 
supineness of the other. But the progress of 
time, and still more — of mutual emulation, has 
corrected the defects of each. Sleep has never 
again fallen on the churchman ; enthusiasm has, 
in a great degree, departed from the methodist. 
So closely have the two persuasions drawn to 
each other, that they are now separated on no 
essential points, and by little more than the sha- 
dowy lines of prejudice and habit." * 

" The superstitions and excesses of the first 
Methodists cannot be concealed, with due regard 
to truth. But it is no less due to truth to acknow- 
ledge their high and eminent qualities. If to 
sacrifice every advantage, and to suffer every 
hardship ; — if to labour for the good, real or sup- 

* Lord Mahon's History of England, Vol. ii. p, 391, 



8 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

posed, of their fellow-creatures, with all their 
heart, with all their soul, and with all their 
strength, — if the most fervent devotion, — if the 
most unconquerable energy be deserving of res- 
pect, let us not speak slightingly of those spi- 
ritual leaders, who, mighty even in their errors, 
and honest even in their contradictions, have 
stamped their character on their own, and on 
the present times. It is proper to record, it is easy 
to deride, their frailties : — but let us, ere we con- 
temn them, seriously ask ourselves, whether we 
should be equally ready to do and bear every 
thing in the cause of conscience, — whether, like 
them, we could fling away all thought of personal 
ease and personal advantage. It has often been 
said, that there is no virtue without sacrifices ; 
but surely it is equally true, that there are no 
sacrifices without virtue." * 

Mrs. Sadler, the daughter of a beneficed cler- 
gyman, a woman of taste, education, and refine- 
ment ; and now of mature age, was not likely to 
be captivated by mere rant and extravagance. 
Firmly attached, also, to the Church of England, 
and that from a reasonable and settled conviction, 
we must in justice concede that, in listening to 
the preachers who visited Doveridge, she had no 

* Lord Mahon's History of England. Vol. ii. p. 362. 



HIS CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH. 9 

intention of forsaking the communion of the Esta- 
blishment. Her case, doubtless, resembled that 
of thousands. Giving to religion the supremacy 
which is its right ; — perceiving that if it deserves 
any place at all in the mind* of a human being, it 
deserves the first ; — acknowledging it to be, not 
wild enthusiasm, but sober reason, to be deeply 
and fervently in earnest about the things of eter- 
nity, — she probably found, in the vehemence and 
awakening zeal of the new visitants, something 
which touched her heart, while her reasoning 
faculties assented to its truth and value. She 
became a hearer of the Methodist preachers, 
without, however, throwing off her allegiance to 
the church, or discontinuing her attendance on 
its services ; and her family followed with her. 
We have rather spoken of Mrs. Sadler in this 
case, than of her husband, because in the for- 
mation of the religious views of a youth, the in- 
fluence of a pious, intelligent, and beloved mother, 
must always have much to do ; and in the present 
instance this was unquestionably the case. 

But the treatment of the Methodists in Dove- 
ridge, was too much like that which they met 
with in most other places. The vicious detested 
them for their faithful warnings, and their exhor- 
tations to purity of life. The pharasaical disliked 
them for their rigid requirement of a heart-service ; 



10 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

— and unfortunately, the incumbent of the parish 
considered them as troublesome intruders, de- 
nounced them from the pulpit, and countenanced 
the use of strong measures to diminish the number 
of their adherents. 

Some idea of the inveteracy of feeling against 
the Methodists, may be gained from a trifling cir- 
cumstance which occurred while Michael Sadler 
was yet at school. He was going, one day, from 
Doveridge to a town at a short distance, and his 
road lay across a bridge which was thrown over 
the Dove, at a spot where the water was very deep. 
At this spot he met one of the most profligate 
characters in the village, and who was, very natu- 
rally, among the foremost in the opposition to the 
Methodists. After a few words of abuse, this 
man seized hold of young Sadler, and suspending 
him over the parapet of the bridge, swore that he 
would instantly drop him into the water, if he did 
not forthwith curse the Methodists. " Never!" 
said the boy, "you may kill me if you choose, but 
I never will ! " The wretch held him for several 
minutes, endeavoring to terrify him by threats and 
imprecations ; but not succeeding, his fears of the 
consequences prevailed, and he released the youth. 
A neighbouring magistrate urged Mr. Sadler to 
prosecute the man, but before any' resolve was 
taken, he had abruptly quitted the neighbourhood. 



HIS CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH. 11 

This occurrence took place when Michael was 
about twelve years of age. It was in his eighteenth 
year that he took a more public part in this quar- 
rel, by publishing a small pamphlet in defence of 
the Methodists, against a public attack of the vicar 
from the pulpit. A merely local and passing 
discussion of this kind could have no interest for 
our readers, and we shall therefore make no ex- 
tract from this production ; merely remarking as 
we pass, that although it can prefer no claim to 
any distinguished rank as a controversial treatise, 
it is at least far beyond the powers of most youths 
of eighteen, however intelligent and well-educated. 

It was not long after the publication of this tract, 
that a sudden attack of illness deprived him of his 
excellent mother; — a loss most deeply felt at the 
time, and to which even at a distance of thirty 
years, he could never recur without evident emo- 
tion. Mr. Sadler survived her but a short time ; 
and neither of them had reached to what is com- 
monly understood by the term of " old age." A 
short time before Mr. Sadler's death, he had fixed 
young Michael in business at Leeds, in connexion 
with and under the care of his elder brother, 
Mr. Benjamin Sadler. This event, and the break- 
ing up of the family which immediately followed, 
brought to a close the first and probably the 
pleasantest portion of his life. 



CHAPTER II. 

A. D. 1800—1818. 
EARLIER YEARS AT LEEDS. 

We are now to contemplate Mr. Sadler in his 
sudden removal from rural enjoyments and lite- 
rary leisure, into the busy scenes of trade, and 
the turmoil of a large manufacturing town. He 
settled in Leeds in the year 1800, and remained a 
sharer in his brother's business for several years, 
until, about the year 1810, they jointly embraced 
the opportunity of entering into partnership with 
the widow of Mr. Samuel Fenton, an extensive 
importer of Irish linens in that town. With this 
concern, Mr. Sadler continued to be connected 
up to the period of his death. 

In looking at Mr. Sadler as a man engaged in 
trade, the first reflection that suggests itself, is 
that of congratulation on his being associated with 
one in every respect better fitted than himself to 
conduct commercial affairs with accuracy and 



EARLIER YEARS AT LEEDS. 13 

success. In fact, the turn of his mind, the nature 
of his education, and the desultory habits of the 
later years of his youth, had so far unfitted him 
for that close and unremitting attention to busi- 
ness, which in these times of perpetual competi- 
tion in all branches of trade, has become abso- 
lutely essential to success, — that it is difficult to 
imagine, how, without such friendly guidance and 
support, his course could have led to aught but 
disaster. Literature, and especially poetry, never 
lost its hold on his mind. Frequently he would 
become so absorbed in these pursuits as to forget 
all other affairs for days and even weeks together. 
Of these fits of abstraction various amusing anec- 
dotes are told ; which, however, it is scarcely 
necessary to offer to our readers. His devotions 
to the muse, nevertheless, were not of a suffi- 
ciently sustained character. He had the failing, 
a considerable but not an uncommon one, of leav- 
ing many things incomplete and unfinished, in the 
hope of a happier hour for adding the last touches. 
A habit, too, of writing down his thoughts on loose 
scraps of paper, and not always transferring them 
to a more permanent receptacle, necessarily occa- 
sioned the loss of many portions of his writings. 
Still our regrets need not exceed the limits of mo- 
deration on this score. He was enabled, in a later 
period of his life, to perform various labours of 



14 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

such solid and substantial value, as to leave all 
poetic fame but that of the very first order, far 
behind, — and to that first order we cannot affect 
to believe that he would have reached. His chief 
work, an epic poem on the national subject of the 
deeds of Alfred, follows in its structure and versi- 
fication, the great works of Pope and Dryden ; 
and we know too well that of an hundred follow- 
ers in this track, which the last hundred years 
have produced, not one, even of our greatest 
names, has achieved even moderate success in 
this path. We therefore leave "Alfred" in its 
unfinished state with no very poignant repinings, 
— well-pleased that that feeling of dissatisfaction 
with his own productions which genius can never 
wholly lose, — drove him from these pursuits, to la- 
bours of far higher value and more enduring utility. 
But though we have been obliged to describe 
Mr. Sadler as very far from an exemplar in the 
conduct of his own commercial affairs, it is due 
to him to observe, that, when called into active 
exertion in the more varied field of public life, he 
never failed to shew himself possessed of talent, 
energy, and even great perseverance in labour. 
Not being here annoyed by the monotony of the 
counting-house, his powerful mind threw itself 
into every work of this kind which was presented 
to him, and never failed to place him in the fore- 



EARLIER YEARS AT LEEDS. 15 

most rank among the public men of his adopted 
town. And these labours were of the most varied 
character. He became a frequent contributor to 
the Leeds Intelligencer, the leading paper in the 
north of England, of the " blue," or Tory party. 
He took the command of a company in the Leeds 
volunteers ; and exhibited great skill in the high 
state of discipline to which he brought it. He 
became an active visitor of the sick and destitute 
poor, in connection with an institution called 
" the Stranger's Friend Society." He was for 
several years the superintendant of one of the 
largest Sunday Schools in Leeds, comprehending 
several hundred scholars. He also took a seat at 
the board for the management of the poor in that 
immense parish : and when the Treasurer of the 
Poor-rates left his post, Mr. Sadler undertook 
this arduous duty ; and performed for several years 
a task, without remuneration, which, on his re- 
tirement, the parish thought deserving, in his suc- 
cessor, of an allowance of £150 a year. For this 
service he received the unanimous thanks of the 
town : but he considered himself chiefly recom- 
pensed by the full acquaintance which this office 
afforded him, with the habits, the wants, and 
the sufferings of the poor ; — an acquaintance 
which was largely conducive to his subsequent 
and more important public services. 



16 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

He also began about this time, to take a de- 
cided part in political affairs ; both generally, in 
support of the government on the great question of 
war with France ; and more especially, in the cele- 
brated contest for the representation of the county 
of Fork which took place in 1807. In this unex- 
ampled struggle, Mr. Sadler's whole energies were 
devoted to the service of Mr. Wilberforce, and he 
was gratified in being enabled to render most effi- 
cient assistance in placing that gentleman at the 
head of the poll, with the immense number of 
11,806 votes. 

In 1812 and 1813, he first began to prove his 
powers as a public speaker. Two or three of his 
earliest attempts were reported in the Leeds Intelli- 
gencer of that period, and it may safely be asserted, 
that, looking at them as the spontaneous produc- 
tions of a man who had spent his first twenty years 
in an obscure village, and the next ten in the din 
and bustle of a manufacturing town, they present 
the fullest promise of that harvest of fame and of 
usefulness, which, at a later period of his life, he 
was so rapidly to gather in. 

In the year 1812, the country was anew dis- 
turbed by the agitation of what was called " The 
Catholic Question." For several preceding years, 
the subject had slumbered, and men's minds had 
ceased to be exercised upon it. The affairs of the 



EARLIER YEARS AT LEEDS. 17 

continent, and the approach of a powerful enemy 
to our own shores, necessarily drew the public at- 
tention in another direction. But as the more im- 
mediate peril, the energies and efforts of the French 
usurper, seemed to decline, and the contest was 
removed to a greater distance, room was left for the 
discussion of domestic controversies ; and thus an 
internal danger returned upon us, less appalling to 
outward view, and less rapid in its advances, but 
hardly to be preferred by any reflecting lover of 
his country, even to the horrors of war, or the 
presence of an hostile invader. 

On the revival of this question in Parliament, at 
the beginning of 1813, a public meeting was called 
by the mayor of Leeds, and held in the spacious 
chancel of the parish church, at which it was com- 
puted that nearly two thousand persons were pre-* 
sent. The object of this meeting was to petition Par- 
liament against the proposed concessions. Mr. Sad- 
ler's speech in seconding that petition seems to have 
been the chief feature of the day's proceedings. 
His reasonings must necessarily now appear of a 
familiar and every-day description ; for the re- 
peated discussions which have since taken place, 
have rendered the argument, on either side, " a 
thrice-told tale," But if we could abstract our 
thoughts from these later views of the question, 
and look at it as then presented, with a degree of 

c 



18 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

novelty, to the people of Leeds, we should probably 
admire both the selection of the topics, and the 
powers of expression manifested in the following 
passages from that speech : 

" In resisting what is most improperly, and I 
fear insidiously, denominated ' Catholic Emancipa- 
tion/ we stand completely aloof from all intention 
of interfering with that religious freedom, of which, 
in common with every individual in the British 
empire, his Majesty's Roman Catholic subjects 
are already in the full possession and in the undis- 
turbed exercise ;■ — an inestimable privilege, which, 
I cannot but remark, has never yet been extended 
by them, in the plenitude of their power, to those 
whom they stigmatize as ' heretics.' And we are 
likewise absolved from the necessity of delibe- 
rating whether any, or what further portion of 
political power might be safely added to those 
many important civil privileges, already con- 
ceded to them by their best benefactor, our 
venerable Sovereign ; (with what effect I need 
not here declare : ) for they most unequivocally 
assert, that nothing less than a total, and as it 
should appear, an unconditional surrender of those 
privileges still pertaining to the Protestant esta- 
blishment, will be accepted by them. To meet 
the question, thus narrowed, we are assembled 
this day ; and under the full conviction, that a 



EARLIER YEARS AT LEEDS. 19 

nation, as much as an individual, has an undoubted 
right to chuse its own servants, or in other words, 
prescribe to whom its authority shall be dele- 
gated, — we conscientiously protest, in the terms of 
the petition just read, against their becoming our 
judges, our legislators, our ministers, our com- 
manders, and in fine, perhaps ultimately our 
Sovereigns ; and we are sanctioned by the united 
authority of reason, religion, and experience, in 
this our determination. 

" Sir, the Protestant cause has long been iden- 
tified with that of the British nation. May they 
never be separated ! But we are firmly convinced, 
that to concede to its grand adversary the power 
it seeks to recover, to resign that influence which 
it would infallibly exert, would be to dilapidate 
the venerable fabric of that happy constitution 
erected by the wisdom and cemented by the blood 
of our ancestors ; would shake the very pillars on 
which the Protestant throne of these realms is 
founded ; would invalidate the title of the present 
Protestant royal family ; would threaten the ex- 
istence of the Protestant establishment ; would 
change many of our laws and subvert many of our 
sacred institutions ; would extinguish the very 
spirit of the glorious revolution of 1688, and pour 
contempt on those great characters, who, under 
divine providence, brought about that happy event ; 

c 2 



20 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

and in fine, would, in the present state of political 
parties, deliver up the country to Roman Catholic 
ascendancy. 

" But, Sir, had we no established government to 
advocate, no prescribed usages to defend : were 
we met here this day to deliberate on the forma- 
tion of a free constitution for our country ; our 
opposition to popery as an ingredient of its govern- 
ment would remain unshaken. Does it need a proof, 
that popery is naturally adapted for the support of 
arbitrary power? Montesquieu himself, an authority 
of the highest order, admits the fact. We should 
likewise reject it, as a principle that saps the very 
foundation of political morality, by recognizing an 
authority that can dispense with the most sacred 
duties, and absolve the most solemn obligations ; 
as being hostile to every other profession of the 
Christian faith, and fraught with intolerance and 
exclusion. And, above all, as being dangerous 
to the interests of all Protestant governments, by 
yielding allegiance to a foreign power, which always 
acknowledges different interests from those of the 
nation, and often is found in open hostility to it. 
Hence the justly celebrated John Locke, the great 
champion of religious liberty, hesitates not, as has 
been previously remarked, to exclude it from his 
enlarged and extended system of toleration. 

" We are told, indeed, that its principles are 



EARLIER YEARS AT LEEDS. 21 

changed ; but its own councils, its colleges, its 
bishops, its advocates assures us to the contrary, 
and denounce those who so represent it, in language 
already quoted, as either deceived themselves or 
wishing to deceive others. 

"But, Sir, we are assured that if its principles 
remain unchangeable, its nature, at least, is re- 
generated by the influence of time. But a reference 
to the authorities previously alluded to, as well as 
to the speeches, publications, proceedings and con- 
duct of its advocates at present, will, I fear, leave 
us few grounds to hope that this amelioration has 
taken place ; and will but too clearly indicate 
from their temper while in the act of petitioning, 
what their conduct would be when admitted into 
powen 

" Much stress has been laid this day on the cir- 
cumstance of oaths, prescribed for the Roman 
Catholics, having been incorporated in the law of 
the land, and taken by many of that religious 
community. But we have likewise heard it proved, 
that multitudes of those to whom they were 
solemnly administered, during the late Irish re- 
bellion, immediately falsified those engagements. 
And any one, if such there be, who doubts that 
the Romish Church still claims the power of ab- 
solving from these sacred obligations, — I would re- 
fer, not to remote or questionable authorities, nor 



22 LIFE OP MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

to the conduct of obscure and unauthorized indi- 
viduals, but to a public act of the great Head of 
the Roman Catholic Church, the present pope ; 
who at the coronation of Buonaparte, at the altar 
of the church of Notre Dame in Paris, fully ab- 
solved Talleyrand from those many obligations of 
this nature, by which he had solemnly and volun- 
tarily bound himself. 

" In determining on all subjects of great national 
import, it clearly becomes us to avail ourselves of 
the sure guide of historic truth ; and on this point 
especially, we have indeed an awful but salutary 
lesson. Politically considered, when England 
roused herself to resist oppression and contend for 
freedom, did not this religion, as by a natural and 
indissoluble alliance, league itself with despotism ? 
Our national history since the Reformation, both 
before and after the Revolution, furnishes us, by a 
chain of striking events, with the most irrefragable 
and repeated proofs of its natural hostility to politi- 
cal freedom. But waving these considerations ; in a 
religious point of view, how does the subject darken 
upon us ! A system of spiritual tyranny, of 
priestly domination, destroying the native freedom 
of the soul, and freezing up its faculties — " Tis 
dumb amaze and list'ning terror all ! " But the 
gloom of its dreadful superstition has been indeed 
awfully illumined by the fires it kindled through- 



EARLIER YEARS AT LEEDS. 23 

out this land, in which expiring martyrs, writhing 
in agony, slowly yielded their souls to God in tor- 
turing flames. What myriads of human victims, 
more numerous than those of Moloch, rise in aw- 
ful remembrance before us this day ! A noble army 
of martyrs which no man can number, from the 
foremost ranks of which I would summon forth 
the souls of our Cranmers, our Latimers, our Rid- 
leys, our Hoopers ! let them pass as it were in 
awful review before us in this sacred place, and 
" being dead, yet speak to us." In our solemn 
decision this day, I trust we shall shew that we 
are not disobedient to their hallowed monitions. 
It is in vain our opponents assure us these days of 
persecution are for ever past. Without adverting 
to those massacres enumerated by a preceding 
speaker, we cannot forget, that in the sister island, 
when Popery recently identified itself with re- 
bellion, the number of its victims, of every age 
and of both sexes, far exceeded those immolated 
at its shrine in the reign of her, justly denominated 
the Bloody Mary. " We have heard with our 
ears and our fathers have declared unto us," what 
will, I trust, unite all Protestants of every denomi- 
nation in a bond of mutual defence, against an 
enemy that equally threatens the existence of 
them all." 

But the remaining passage of his speech best 



24 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

exhibits both the penetrative power of Mr. Sadler's 
mind, in detecting the foundation-sophism on 
which the whole argument for "Emancipation" 
rested, and also the masculine grasp of his intel- 
lect, in the powerful exposure of its fallacy. It 
deserves perusal and consideration,, not merely as 
a record of a past discussion, but as a valuable 
portion of a still existing and present controversy. 
" But all the arguments suggested by reason or 
deduced from experience, the advocates of the 
measure to which we stand opposed attempt to 
rebut by a single proposition, which, if applied to 
religious freedom, none of us would feel disposed 
to controvert ; but which, when referred to politi- 
cal considerations, as in the present argument, is 
totally false. It is advanced, nevertheless, with all 
the air of a self-evident proposition ; with all the 
succinctness of an oracular response, and unfortun- 
ately with all the fallacy of one. It was origin- 
ally broached by that arch-infidel, Thomas Paine, 
and is worthy of the source from whence it sprung. 
It is, that religion is no question, or in other words, 
ought not to be brought into question, between man 
and man : than which there was never a more false 
or more dangerous assertion. It might be true, to a 
certain extent, of the religion of the heathens, a 
chief part of which consisted in the private worship 
of their Penates ; or of such a religion as Laban's, 



EARLIER YEARS AT LEEDS. 25 

whose gods might be secreted in the bottom of a 
sack ; but of true Christianity it is totally false. All 
religion, indeed, in the widest sense, is the main 
and master-spring of human actions. It is the sole 
foundation of all human virtue, as well public as 
private. And hence our protestant ancestors, who 
knew the truth of their pure and reformed religion ; 
who saw, in a public point of view, its importance, 
and felt its necessity, made it an essential ingre- 
dient in the composition of that excellent form of 
government which they established, and bequeath- 
ed to us their posterity. But their authority is 
perhaps of little weight in these enlightened days ; 
those who still defer to it, are stigmatized as intole- 
rant, and they are ridiculed as ' learned doctors of 
the sixteenth century,' and by other opprobrious 
epithets. But we would call such sneerers to a re- 
collection of their own insignificance. When has 
England, before or since, witnessed so glorious a 
period, so bright a display of all those powerful 
talents that adorn and elevate the human mind, as 
of those which mingled their coruscations at the 
time when these restrictions were imposed and 
established ? That Augustan age of England ! 
when her philosophers, her legislators, her poets, 
her divines, her literati, crowding together, formed 
as it were, a glorious galaxy on the firmament of 
fame, which will shine unrivalled while the page 



26 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

of history endures. Men, to whom all others who 
wish to shine in their respective spheres, must "give 
their days and their nights/* must imbibe their 
wisdom, study their thoughts, imitate their expres- 
sion, and catch, if they can, a ray of that genius 
with which they irradiated their own age, and 
illuminate all future generations. Men, compared 
with whom, the loftiest of those who call their 
authority into question, dwindle into less than 
dwarfs. Men, who gave their souls to these im- 
portant considerations, who heard the very same 
arguments that are now pressed upon us in favour 
of the very same claims, and heard them from an 
authority to which less patriotic, less enlightened, 
less determined characters would have yielded im- 
plicit obedience, — but who heard them unmoved; 
and determined, as I hope we shall determine this 
day. I am well aware of the flimsy argument that 
is often urged, that these restrictions were only 
necessary while there was a popish pretender to 
the throne. But if the principle to which I have 
adverted be true, and which demands this notice, 
from the manner in which it is asserted and repeat- 
ed, — that religion is no question between man and 
man, — why exclude a monarch from the throne of 
his ancestors on account of religion, (which we now 
hear is a thing not fairly cognizable by human 
authority,) for urging the very claims we now hear, 



EARLIER YEARS AT LEEDS. 27 

and attempting to introduce the order of things 
now sought to be established ? In fact, the argu- 
ments founded on such fallacious principles as this, 
when fully stated and pressed to their ultimate 
issue, would involve us in a labyrinth of difficulties 
and dangers, from which no one, however stre- 
nuous for the measure, has as yet condescended to 
give us a clue of liberation. Admit the claims 
under consideration, and government, instead of 
that harmony we have hitherto deemed equally 
essential to its existence and to the success of its 
operations, would be a " chaos of contrarieties at 
war," in which, in the jar of contending interests, 
our present establishments would be threatened 
with total annihilation." 

If compared with many later addresses on this 
topic, both parliamentary and on the hustings, 
this speech will claim no very high degree. But 
to view it fairly, it must be considered as one of 
the first public efforts of a young man, whose 
whole life had been spent in two country towns, 
and who was dealing with a subject then com- 
paratively little understood. In this point of view 
it must be admitted to afford great promise for the 
future ; and it is only as such, that we have here 
adverted to it. 

The petition thus brought forward, against the 
Romish claims, was carried, in a very large meet- 



28 LIFE OP MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

ing, by an overwhelming majority, notwithstand- 
ing the vehement opposition of the whole Whig 
party of that town ; and was forwarded to parlia- 
ment with an immense body of signatures. 

In the autumn of 1814, Mr. Sadler experienced 
the first attack of that malady which, about twenty 
years afterwards, terminated his life. A distress- 
ing palpitation, and severe pain about the region of 
the heart, accompanied and followed by great 
prostration of strength, confined him for several 
weeks. On the recession of his complaint, he 
occupied much of the leisure time of his conva- 
lescence in his versification of the book of Psalms. 
This task gradually became so delightful to him, 
as to furnish, up to the very close of his life, a 
constant source of gratification and enjoyment. 
He had the Bible and prayer-book versions bound 
up together, and made them his constant com- 
panion. In his journeys, whether connected with 
the affairs of his firm, or taken with a view to 
relaxation, this little volume was ever at hand, 
and he had nearly completed, before his death, 
without ever taking up the work as a labour, an 
entirely new, and in many respects a very supe- 
rior version of this portion of the Bible. 

His marriage, in May 1816, to MissFenton, the 
eldest daughter of the lady with whom his brother 
and himself were connected in business, produced 



EARLIER YEARS AT LEEDS. 29 

the usual change and improvement in his habits ; 
which, though wholly free from vice, had been 
marked by a full share of the eccentricities of 
genius. He now became, in the largest sense of the 
word, a domestic man, mingling only with a small 
circle of friends, with whom he continued to be, 
as he had previously been to a larger range, a 
peculiar favourite. 

He had always entertained a decided preference 
for the Church of England, but after his marriage 
he became more regular and undeviating in his 
attendance on her ordinances. And it was about 
this period that he accepted a seat in the Leeds 
corporation. 

In the year 1817, Walter Fawkes, Esq. of 
Farnley, a gentleman who had for a short time 
represented the county of York in parliament, 
published a pamphlet, entitled f The English- 
man's Manual, or a Dialogue between a Tory and 
a Reformer.' In this tract, which quickly excited 
much attention, Mr. Fawkes endeavoured to 
prove that the British Constitution had been for 
ages suffering from the inroads of corruption, and 
the encroachments of arbitrary power. And, as 
the cry for ' Reform,' which had been little heard 
of for the last twenty years, was again coming 
into fashion, and was beginning to be made the 
cheval de battaile of the various classes who were 



30 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

opposed to the existing government, it naturally 
followed that Mr. Fawkes's production was, on its 
first appearance, greatly lauded, and represented 
as an unanswerable argument. 

Perceiving this, and observing that a mere fic- 
tion was gaining credit, solely from being left in 
undisturbed possession of the field, Mr. Sadler 
took up the pen, and in the space of three weeks 
composed, and gave to the world a reply, con- 
sisting of 108 pages of rather close print, and filled 
with proofs of great research. Taking the directly 
opposite position, he asserted, and supported his 
assertions by the clearest proofs, that the progress 
of the Constitution had constantly been towards 
greater and still greater degrees of freedom, and 
an increasing proportion of democracy : that 
instead of encroaching upon the popular branch 
of the legislature, the crown had been constantly 
losing influence, and suffering positive diminution 
of power: and that at no former period were 
the people so fully and justly represented in the 
House of Commons, as at the existing moment. 
To those who know anything of the probabilities 
of sale attending a bulky political pamphlet, issued 
from a provincial town, and by an author of 
unknown name, it will be enough to say, that this 
work went through two considerable editions in 
a short period, to satisfy them that it must have 



EARLIER YEARS AT LEEDS. 31 

been no common production. It was entitled, 
' A First Letter to a Reformer,' and was intended 
to have been followed by a second. The recep- 
tion it met with, might well have encouraged its 
author to proceed ; but rinding that the tide sud- 
denly turned against Mr. Fawkes, and that the 
chief Whig organ, the Edinburgh Review, treated 
his position as utterly untenable, Mr. Sadler 
ceased to regard the matter with any interest, and 
wrote no more on the subject. 



CHAPTER III. 

A, D. 1819—1826. 
THE FORMATION OF HIS SYSTEM. 

We have now accompanied Mr. Sadler to that 
period of life, at which the human mind generally 
reaches maturity ; at which, often after various 
fluctuations and corrections, men usually begin to 
feel well assured and grounded in their opinions ; 
and having attained a degree of satisfaction and 
certainty which is the natural parent of confi- 
dence, they soon exhibit, if really in earnest in 
their views, a wish to enforce the truth and 
importance of the principles they have adopted, 
on the minds of others. 

In the case of some, who are set apart for the 
office and dignity of statesmen and legislators, 
almost before their birth, such maturity is consi- 
derably hastened. But as with many other forced 
productions, this early forwardness has its disad- 
vantages. The tree which is of slowest growth, is 



THE FORMATION OF HIS SYSTEM. 33 

both the most firmly rooted and the most compact 
and unyielding in its texture. The gourd may 
" grow up in a night, and perish in a night." But 
the mighty denizens of the forest, as their duration 
is to outlast centuries, so they require almost cen- 
turies to attain maturity. Mr. Sadler had not 
completed his own education, as a legislator, up to 
the hour of his death ; but even his " school exer- 
cises," so to speak, in statesmanship, have more of 
real value in them, than all the splendid oratory 
of the Sheridans, the Cannings, and thePlunkets, 
— the eloquent advocates of a party, trained up 
from youth to argue on either side for place, — 
that the English language can produce. 

It was between the date of his marriage and that 
of his entrance into Parliament, that the great out- 
lines of his system, as we shall hereafter endeavour 
to delineate it, began to be distinctly marked. 

That system cannot, it appears to us, be better 
described than as the Paternal or Productive ; its 
leading characteristics being, to foster, protect, 
cherish, encourage, promote: its chief means of 
operation, the presenting to human beings the 
motives of benevolence and hope. The antagonist 
system, against which Mr. Sadler seemed raised 
up to wage endless war, is the system of the poli- 
tical economists, which may bear the name chosen 
and affixed to one of its leading features by its 



34 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

chief apostle, and be characterized as the Prevent- 
ive or Repressive: its object being to repress, dis- 
courage, isolate, and limit ; and its favourite 
means, the inculcation of fear; and of mutual dis- 
trust. The motto of the one system is, " Dwell in 
the land, and verily thou shalt be fed; " — that of the 
other, "At Nature's mighty feast there is no 
vacant cover for you : she tells you to begone — 
you have no business to exist." * 

It was the leading characteristic of Mr. Sadler's 
mind, and that which elevated him above the mere 
party-politician of the day, that he never dealt with 
the bare externals of a question ; never rested satis- 
fied with arguments derived from present circum- 
stances, or apparent expediency. His masculine 
understanding seemed unceasingly occupied with 
any question presented to him, until he had resolved 
it into its elementary principles, and fully satisfied 
his conscience as to the right and wrong of the 
matter. 

He could not content himself with asking, in 
the words of Pontius Pilate, newly revived by 
would-be statesmen in the British legislature, 
" What is truth?" and then like Pilate, leaving 
the subject without caring for an answer. He knew 
full well that with a light from heaven, especially 
provided for our guidance, he who willingly re- 

* Malthus.— Essay on Population, 4to. p. 552. 



THE FORMATION OF HIS SYSTEM. 35 

mained in darkness, would stumble to his own 
shame. And, with the immutable principles of 
truth deeply engraven on his conscience, and often 
recurred to in their Inspired Records, he never for 
an instant tolerated the idea of groping his way, 
like the blind, by the miserable aid of the nearest 
proximate circumstances. 

This feature of his mind has especially forced 
itself on our notice, in perusing a number of his 
speeches ; belonging, as they do, to a considerable 
series of years. Inferior, in several respects, to 
the best specimens of the great orators of our day, 
there is yet this vast advantage over most of these 
more favored leaders, constantly apparent, — that, 
the speaker not only speaks from the heart, 
but that he knows also, by the force of moral 
demonstration on his own mind, that he speaks 
the truth, and is advocating right and justice. 
And this is made apparent by his constant ap- 
peal to first principles. The earliest of his 
speeches that we have upon record, already 
quoted in the preceding chapter, goes at once to 
the foundation of the whole question, and unhesi- 
tatingly asserts the difference between Protes- 
tantism and Popery to be no matter of doubtful 
merit, but one in which the truth was not only 
ascertainable, but actually ascertained, by the light 
of God's word. And in the last effort made by him 

n 2 



36 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

in the House of Commons, in 1832, he, with the 
same boldness, rests his case upon " the law of 
God;" which law he quotes, and upon which he 
fearlessly relies. 

And here, doubtless, lay the secret of his 
strength. That which rendered him " a bore " to 
the mere gentleman of fashion, who cared little 
about politics, except in so far as it was neces- 
sary to profess some sort of opinions in order to 
gain the distinction of 'M.P.'; and made him 
utterly detestable to the sordid economist, who 
would willingly dispeople the land so that an 
equivalent quantity of steam-engines might but do 
the work at a cheaper rate ; was, his enthusiasm in 
every matter which he took in hand : and that 
enthusiasm could only exist as the natural conse- 
quence of a heartfelt conviction. But this ear- 
nestness in his work, the reality of which could 
not be mistaken, however unpopular it might make 
him with the mere lounger, and with those official 
persons whose chief object always is, " to carry on 
the government " with as little trouble as may be, 
had a very different effect on the better portions 
of the people of England. Of this we shall find 
abundant proofs as we proceed. Our present 
object is, merely to mark the progress and settle- 
ment of his opinions, as they gradually became 
fixed, and were matured into a system. 



THE FORMATION OF HIS SYSTEM. 37 

In the year 1819, his attention was naturally 
directed, in common with the whole British public, 
to the question of the currency, then undergoing a 
close investigation, leading to an important practi- 
cal change. The bent of his mind naturally led 
him to prefer that kind of currency which offered 
facilities to the enterprising and industrious ; rather 
than that seemed to vest all power in the great 
capitalist. But, seeing that some change was 
inevitable, his mind chiefly turned to the conside- 
ration of how that change might be effected with 
the least amount of suffering to the industrious 
classes. 

His immense superiority in real practical know- 
ledge and foresight was eminently manifested on 
this occasion. While Mr. Ricardo, the great 
oracle of the economists, and with him a crowd 
of supposed philosophers, were committing the 
gross absurdity of broadly predicting, that because 
gold was then only four and a half per cent above 
the mint price, therefore, the reduction in prices 
generally, arising from a return to a gold stan- 
dard, would only be the same four and a half per 
cent, — Mr. Sadler saw with the greatest clearness 
and certainty, that the result would be a far more 
serious depression of prices, accompanied, of course, 
by the utmost distress, calamity, and in many cases, 
ruin. The result exhibited the difference between 



38 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

an abstract theorist and a practical philosopher. 
Instead of the trivial and immaterial fall in prices 
predicted by the economists, the country speedily 
witnessed one of the most disastrous extent. In 
many cases, and for a time at least, the depression 
was to the extent of one half, or fifty per cent ; a 
much more fearful visitation, so far as the parties 
interested were concerned, than if the national 
debt had suddenly been doubled, or the taxation 
of the country raised from 50 to 100 millions 
per annum. Wheat, for instance, was in 1818, 
the year before the passing of the Currency bill, 
of the average price of 83s. 5d. per quarter. In 
1822, three years after, it was 43s. 3d. Sugar 
was, in 1819, gazetted at the average of 50s. 9d, 
in 1830 at 24?. Id. Cheese, of the best sort, 
brought percwt. £3 10s. to £5., in 1819; in 1830, 
£1. 15s. to £2. 15. Bacon in 1819, £3. 10s. to 
£3. 14s.: in 1830, only £1. 16s. to £2. Iron in 
bars, in 1819, £13. to £14. per ton ; in 1830, £7. 
to £7. 5s. Lead, in 1819, £26, in 1830, £14. 10s. 
Coffee, in 1819, £6. 15s. to £8. 3s. per cwt ; in 
1830, £1. 5s. to £4. 4s. Cotton, in 1819, Is. 3d. 
to Is. lid. per lb. ;. in 1830, 5d. to 8d. Flax, in 
1819, £86. to £89. per ton ; in 1830 £37. 10s. to 
£39. A variety of other leading commodities 
might be named, all evincing the same fact, that 
from 1819, when the currency bill passed, to 1830, 



THE FORMATION OF HIS SYSTEM. 3V 

when it came into full effect, the reduction of prices 
on most commodities was nearly one half. 

Now nothing can be clearer than that this vast 
change was one for the advantage of the capitalist 
and the mere consumer, and the disadvantage of 
the industrious producer. The man to whom the 
country pays £1000 a-year, whether in interest 
on the Three per cents, or as a placeman or pen- 
sioner, is clearly an immense gainer if the legisla- 
ture chooses to pass a law to reduce by one half the 
prices of all things upon which his income is ex- 
pended. His £1000 a-year thus becomes nearly 
equal to £2000. But with the poor producer, who 
has to grow twice as much corn, or raise twice as 
much iron, or make twice as much cheese, as here- 
tofore, to pay the said annuitant his £1000 a-year, 
the case is widelv different. And Mr. Sadler, 
clearly perceiving the operation of the change, felt 
no satisfaction in the progress of the currency bill. 

Not, however, seeing how the measure could be 
successfully opposed, his chief desire was, to render 
the change less sudden ; and to prevent the ruin 
which he clearly foresaw that so immediate a revul- 
sion must bring on many innocent persons. This 
he proposed to do by a plan suggested in a series of 
letters to a periodical of that year, which was to 
this effect ; — To fix the resumption of cash pay- 
ments at ten years' distance ; and, in the mean- 



40 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

time, keeping up the ease and prosperity arising 
from a paper currency, to raise the sinking fund 
from five millions, its then limit, to ten ; which 
sum of ten millions should be actually devoted, 
each year, to the reduction of debt. 

At the end of the ten years, by stopping this 
sinking fund, and cancelling all the debt pur- 
chased by it, to effect a sudden reduction of from 
ten to fifteen millions in the annual taxation, in 
those taxes which pressed most on the national in- 
dustry ; and thus to give a great relief, on the one 
hand, at the same moment that the restriction of 
the currency came into operation on the other. 

Of all the propositions then offered to the public 
on this much discussed but little understood topic, 
we feel no hesitation in asserting this of Mr. Sad- 
ler's to have been at once the most original and 
the best. It is, of course, useless now to waste 
regrets on the adoption of a harsher course ; but 
we may express the conviction which we feel, — 
that had some such precautions been resorted to, 
the ruin of hundreds or thousands of guiltless 
families might have been avoided ; and the coun- 
try at large preserved from several fearful mone- 
tary convulsions. 

In the same year, (1819) he took part in 
the foundation of a Literary and Philosophical 
Society in the town of Leeds ; of which institution 



THE FORMATION OF HIS SYSTEM. 41 

he soon became a Vice President. In 1825 he con- 
sented to prepare and read to the Society a series 
of papers, on the subject, selected by himself, of the 
principle of the Poor Laws. In these lectures we find 
the germ of his work on Ireland ; and many of its 
arguments and most striking passages. The choice 
of a subject so apparently unattractive marked the 
character of his mind. There was as little of human 
policy in it, and as much of earnestness in what 
he felt, and rightly felt, to be a subject of para- 
mount importance, as marked his subsequent 
course in Parliament. As might have been ex- 
pected, he opened the course with a very scanty 
auditory, but before he had reached his last lec- 
ture, the room was filled to overflowing. 

A third proof of the progress of his mind in these 
inquiries, occurred in a speech delivered by him in 
the following year (1826) at a dinner given in 
Leeds to the Hon. W. Duncombe and II . Foun- 
tayne Wilson, Esq. the newly-elected members on 
the Protestant interest, for the West Riding of 
Yorkshire. The speech in question naturally 
touches on a great variety of topics ; but one pas- 
sage exhibits the bent of his mind on those ques- 
tions, which were thenceforward to constitute the 
chief occupation of his thoughts, during the few 
remaining years of his life. 

" My notions on political economy, I need not 



42 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

distribute under the usual heads of capital, rent, 
wages, &c. but simply sum them up in these 
terms, namely :— To extend the utmost possible 

DEGREE OF HUMAN HAPPINESS TO THE GREATEST 
POSSIBLE NUMBER OF HUMAN BEINGS. # To do this, 

seems to me to require far less of art than of be- 
nevolence ; our duties are sufficiently plain, and 
fortunately for mankind, duty and interest are at 
length always found inseparably connected. In 
reference to a part of a former speech which has 
occasioned so much animadversion, I again assert, 
that the real interests of manufacture and agricul- 
ture are inseparable, and that those who would set 
them in hostile array against each other, are the true 
friends of neither. I regard agriculture as una 
Manufacture universelle, as Montesquieu some- 
where expresses himself, and one without which 
no nation can ultimately prosper ; and which, as 
employing a far greater number of hands than any 
other occupation, this country, least of all others, 
could dispense with. I would therefore protect 

* This principle has, of late years, been put forward as the ob- 
ject of a particular section of the school of Political Economists. 
Whether its earliest promulgation may be traced to their writings, 
or to Mr. Sadler, we are not able to say. Of one thing, how- 
ever, we are abundantly certain, from personal intercourse with 
Mr. S. and enquiries directed to this point,— that it was not bor- 
rowed by him from a sect, whose writings, in fact, he never 
consulted. 



THE FORMATION OF HIS SYSTEM. 43 

and encourage it, as we have hitherto done all other 
manufactures, and I trust shall still continue to 
do, in spite of the new-fangled dogmas of the eco- 
nomists. I have been accused of adapting my 
doctrines to my audience, but I shall repeat, and 
with greater emphasis, surrounded by my mer- 
cantile friends and neighbours, what I said to (I 
am told) a different party at York. The propo- 
sition, which originated with Ricardo, of throwing 
out of cultivation the poorer soils, comprising the 
greater part of the surface of the kingdom, I hold 
to be one of the most cruel and absurd propositions 
which was ever submitted to the consideration of a 
thinking people. It is not because this would de- 
form and desolate our beautiful country, and, 
smiling, as it is, with universal culture, like the 
garden of Eden, turn it back again into a barren 
and continuous common, that I object to it ; 
neither is it because it would greatly diminish the 
value of the property of the country, at a period 
when such diminution would, I fear, be fatal ; nor 
yet, because it would deprive thousands of the 
smaller freeholders of their all, without the re- 
motest intention of indemnifying them. It is upon 
yet stronger and deeper grounds than all these 
that I object to it, namely, because it would throw 
millions upon millions of those who are now earn- 
ing their bread by the sweat of their brow while 



44 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

tilling those soils, out of employment and out of 
bread ; these must, I assert, then take refuge, one 
and all, amongst the manufacturing interests of the 
kingdom ; and, at a time when the markets of the 
world seem overstocked with our present supply, 
they must become our rivals, instead of remaining 
our best and steadiest customers. I am aware of 
what the theorists promise us as the ultimate result, 
but I hold their expectations to be very uncertain, 
and to be also, on many important considerations, 
very undesirable, if sure. I am not aware that it 
is possible to build one interest upon the ruins of 
another ; and if it were, its advantage would be but 
momentary. Like a ricketty child, it might shew, 
indeed, some signs of precocity, but few evidences 
of strength, and no presages of perpetuity. With 
respect to the " factious clamour for cheap prices," 
(the expression is not mine, but I could apply with 
perfect truth, a still less flattering epithet to those 
who raise the cry, but Sir Francis Burdet has done 
it for me ;) it is not to serve the labouring poor, 
but to lower their present wages, " that we may," 
say the economists, ' ' compete with our foreign 
rivals ; " these, however, wish to conceal another 
and a still longer downward stride, which the 
country must take, before this competition can 
come into play ; they must not merely enable the 
people to feed as cheaply, but compel them to feed 



THE FORMATION OF HIS SYSTEM. 45 

aspoorly, as those half-savage, half-civilized nations, 
with whom some are so eager for our artizans to 
compete, before their system can take effect : and 
what is this but to propose in plain terms, a vast 
and proportionate diminution in the circulation of 
all the products of industry in our own market. 
The great deterioration in the value of all property 
which would then necessarily ensue, coupled with 
the projected diminution of the circulating me- 
dium, would, I fear, at length create a difficulty 
of meeting the public creditor ; and England, 
which has found itself advancing for centuries past, 
under the ancient system, would then, as Shakes- 
peare says, " go like a crab, backwards," till, 
under the guidance of our economists, we should 
at length arrive at perfection, and be " subtilized 
into savages." 

" What I have said in reference to the agricul- 
tural, I apply equally to the manufacturing in- 
terests. I would have them all duly fostered and 
protected, agreeably to the old English adage, 
Live and let live ! The linen manufacture, for in- 
stance, could not, especially in reference to its 
English branches, exist a moment without high 
protecting duties ; and what should I think of my- 
self, if, enjoying this support, I should turn round 
upon an infinitely more numerous class of my fel- 
low-countrymen, whose only hope is to earn their 



46 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

bread, and head the clamour, aye, "clamour" 
against them : if, while I refused at all to compete 
with any but Englishmen, I should insist upon it 
that they competed with the whole world, old and 
new. But the error, I fear, would lie in my head 
as well as my heart while so doing. Tis true the 
new principle will work well in theory, as all theo- 
ries do. I, however, greatly fear that the good it 
promises would be very uncertain and contingent, 
while the evil it would inflict would be sure and 
permanent. Had we to begin de novo, the case 
would be different, and a country like ours could 
have nothing to fear from an unrestrained com- 
mercial intercourse with every nation upon earth 
■ — then our course would be plain and straight 
forwards ; but as we are at present circumstanced, 
I think we should be cautious in treading down 
those interests, which have grown up under a dif- 
ferent system. Circumstanced as we are, espe- 
cially in reference to the load of our public debt, 
I would as soon set a man to run a race with a 
millstone around his neck, as start England on the 
principle of this universal competition. 

u Ina word, Gentlemen, I am for an alteration 
of the corn laws, such as, on the one hand, will 
feed the people of this country at moderate prices, 
and on the other, will still permit the agricul- 
turists of the empire to labour and to live amongst 



THE FORMATION OF HIS SYSTEM. 47 

us. I am for free trade also ! but it is principally 
the free trade of England that I would keep in 
view ; not that of foreigners of every country and 
description, that they may make free with any 
branch of it, in our own market, on the ' re- 
ciprocity ' system ; which I fear, if I may still pun 
upon the word, will soon free us from trade alto- 
gether. Free trade, according to the new system, 
is, I fear, much like ' free living,' dangerous to the 
purse, and destructive to the constitution. Under 
our present circumstances I feel persuaded that 
free trade, as applied either to the agricultural or 
shipping interests, would be ruinous, — that it 
would break from beneath us the staff which has 
supported, and paralyze the arm that has defended 
the nation, and wreathed her brow with unfading 
laurels. But under any such system, what are 
you to do with Ireland, which barely exists by an 
access to, and indeed a monopoly of, the English 
market, for the products of her industry ? — Why, 
leave them to the operation of Mr. M'Culloch's 
system, which teaches the rich to serve the poor 
by deserting them ! Or commend them to the 
"holy keeping" of Mr. O'Connell, who can feed 
a starving population with scraps of politics, and 
above all, if he be allowed, could, it is said, satisfy 
them with plenteous doses of Catholic Emancipa- 
tion. It is the comforts, the interests, the happi- 



48 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

ness of the labouring poor, whether of England or 
Ireland, that I have kept in view during the whole 
of this discussion. How they are depressed and 
wronged by the modern system, and the methods 
by which their injuries ought to be redressed, have 
been long under my deepest consideration, and I 
am now about to submit my thoughts on that sub- 
ject to the public, through another channel. Po- 
litical economists propose to deprive them of their 
constitutional right to relief in their time of afflic- 
tion and distress ; and very consistently, for they 
would begin their operations by demolishing the 
pillars of support on which the great weight of the 
national charity rests, — the agricultural interests." 



4 



CHAPTER IV. 



A. D. 1827—1828. 



HIS WORK ON IRELAND. 



In the passage quoted at the close of the last 
chapter, it will be observed that Mr. Sadler 
alluded to an intention he then entertained, of 
laying before the public his views of the state of 
Ireland, and of the policy required towards that 
country. The work thus adverted to was composed 
by him in the course of the following year, and 
made its appearance in the spring of 1828. 

It had been his intention to include this Essay 
in the larger work, upon which he had been for 
some time engaged, on the Law of Human Increase ; 
looking upon the sister kingdom as furnishing a 
most interesting and important section of the 
inquiry. But it will be in the recollection of those 
whose memories enable them to recal the chief 
features of that period, that a remarkable degree 
of excitement prevailed, with respect to the state 
of Ireland, during the two or three years preceding 
the passing of the Relief Bill ; an excitement 

E 



50 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

which was in some degree aided by the various 
attempts of those who were opposed to that mea- 
sure, and who therefore felt it the more incumbent 
on them to point out some other course by which 
the discontents of Ireland could be allayed. Hence 
arose sundry Committees of Enquiry, and various 
projects propounded, both in parliament and out 
of it, for grappling with the ' 'evils" which afflicted 
Ireland, and for applying the true " remedy." 

The activity manifested in this matter by the 
political economists, and especially by the disci- 
ples of Mr. Malthus, and the perpetual repetition 
by them of the assertion, that " a redundant po- 
pulation " was the grand mischief under which 
Ireland laboured, and that emigration, or some 
other means of reducing the numbers of the peo- 
ple, must be adopted before peace and comfort 
could be restored, induced Mr. Sadler to abandon 
his first intention ; and, detaching his chapters on 
the state of Ireland from his larger work, — to give 
them to the public in a distinct volume. The 
title-page of that volume expressly states, that it 
is intended as " a Refutation of the errors of the 
Emigration Committee, and others, touching that 
country." 

As Mr. Sadler's parliamentary exertions con- 
nected with this question will cause us to return 
to the subject, we shall not discuss at much length 



HIS WORK ON IRELAND. 51 

the character of this work. Some account, how- 
ever, of its general tenor — and line of argument 
will naturally be looked for in this place. 

The work opens with a reference to the prevail- 
ing errors and misconceptions, which it was the 
author's object to expose and to refute. 

"Two dogmas they" (the Malthusians and the 
political economists) " have in common, as to the 
causes of the suffering and degradation of Ire- 
land ; and, at present, one specific cure. The 
former are these : — 1. The distresses of Ireland 
are owing to a superfluous population, still increas- 
ing faster than the means of subsistence. 2. Those 
distresses are aggravated and multiplied by the 
universal use of the potatoe. The remedy is to 
be found in a diminished population. With regard 
to the former it is singular enough that, in one 
and the same breath, Providence is arraigned for 
bringing too many human beings into existence, 
and for affording sure means of sustentation to 
their increasing numbers, by a stupendous provi- 
sion of nature, hitherto almost untouched rather 
than exhausted, and probably, in reference to 
any future population of the earth, inexhaustible. 
As it respects Ireland, millions upon millions of 
acres, now totally waste and idle, a little indus- 
try, directed and aided by what is called capital, 
would enrich with this subterraneous harvest, and 

e 2 



52 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

at the same time clothe with cattle " a thousand " 
of her barren " hills," so as to sustain and satisfy 
many millions of human beings more than are 
now often almost starved (ten times as many is 
the lowest calculation of our ablest agricultural 
authorities) ; but this natural expedient, equally 
dictated by humanity, policy, and necessity, does 
not chime in with the current notions. It is 
deemed more desirable to dissipate British capital 
in expatriating British subjects ; in planting du- 
bious friends, if not future enemies, in distant 
quarters , peopling the northern deserts of Ame- 
rica, or the arid regions of Southern Africa, or 
even the continent and remote islands of the 
Southern Ocean, and thus, in a vast plurality 
of cases, terminating human misery, instead of 
relieving it. Such is the policy which is now be- 
ginning to be recommended from high places, even 
as it regards England : the very " thews and 
sinews " of the empire are to be transferred to 
distant climes, in order to increase our internal 
prosperity and strength ! Regarding the latter, 
they may, indeed, differ a little at present ; but, 
touching Ireland, the greatest unanimity prevails : 
Ireland must be depopulated to be enriched." 

He then gives a table, shewing the actual in- 
crease of the population between 1672 and 1821 ; 
and next proceeds to " examine the arguments 



HIS WORK ON IRELAND. 53 

of those who, holding the modern notion on the 
principle of population, attribute the distress and 
degradation of Ireland to excessive numbers ; and 
who exultingly point to that country, as fully 
demonstrating all the dogmas they have advanced. 
A very short consideration of the subject will, I 
think, suffice to abate the confidence of such, if 
not finally to destroy it altogether." 

" I would first ask, then, is Ireland overpeo 
pled in reference to its potential produce ? 

" On the contrary, even on the showing of the 
Emigration Committee, there are in Ireland, at 
the present time, at least 4,900,000 acres of 
productive land uncultivated, independently of 
2,416,664 acres deemed (on what authority I know 
not,) incapable of improvement. These immense 
tracts, a little of the constantly-abstracted capital 
of the country might bring into the most luxu- 
riant state, as their cultivation should become 
necessary ; while the very act of reclaiming these 
would be the means of correcting the management 
of the rest, now imperfectly improved, so as to 
produce the means of human subsistence in quan- 
tities it would not be easy to calculate, certainly 
far beyond the possible consumption of double the 
present inhabitants of the entire island, (to take a 
far lower estimate than any which agriculture 
presents to us,) even were the people as much 



54 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

improved in their mode of living as they would be 
increased in numbers. In the meantime, while 
Nature has provided the amplest means for this 
amelioration, and solicits from us their improve- 
ment, is she, or " human institutions," ( charge- 
able with the misery which their neglect occa- 
sions ? Is the principle of our policy, or that of 
population, to blame as it respects Ireland ? In 
a word, are these sufferings, under such circum- 
stances, chargeable upon man, or upon God ? 

" But, to disencumber the question of all those 
calculations which a reference to the potential 
produce of the country involves, and of which 
political economy would avail itself, in order to 
" darken counsel " by obscure definitions and ab- 
stract discussions, neither intelligible nor interest- 
ing to the mass of mankind ; let us, secondly,, 
ask the advocates of the new theory of population, 
who, as before noticed, imagine they prove their 
point by a reference to Ireland, — Is Ireland, leav- 
ing totally out of consideration its possible ferti- 
lity, overpeopled in reference to its actual produce ? 

" This, again, I must answer as before. Most 
certainly not ; but very much to the contrary : 
and to this answer, and its necessary conse- 
quences, I must call the serious attention of the 
advocates of absenteeism, to whom I shall address 
myself more particularly hereafter. Ireland, in- 



HIS WORK ON IRELAND. 55 

stead of not producing sufficient for the suste- 
nance of its inhabitants, produces far more than 
they ever consume, exporting a greater quantity 
of its edible products than probably any other 
country of equal extent in the whole world. I 
had collected the annual returns of its exports of 
this nature for a series of years past, when, at the 
moment I was inserting them, a condensated state- 
ment of them, at a period particularly calculated 
to put the question to the severest test, met my 
eye. It is contained in a useful little work, en- 
titled " Statistical Illustrations," in the emphatic 
language of whose author I shall present it. — 
" With an ignorance and pertinacity presumptuous 
as the expatiations and assertions adverted to 
above are fallacious and delusive," (alluding to 
some previous remarks on absenteeism) " it is 
asserted that the misery of Ireland arises from an 
excess of population beyond the power of the 
country to supply subsistence; but, in the face 
of such assertion, and whilst an appeal was being- 
made in England to rescue Ireland from famine, 
and a subscription of 304,181/., in 1822, was 
raised on that plea, 30,882/. only of which was 
expended for articles of subsistence, and 9,374/. 
more in potatoes for seed, the remainder being 
distributed in money," (much of which, doubtless, 
found its way into the pockets of the absentee 



56 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

landlords,) '■ Ireland exported articles- of subsis- 
tence alone, to no less an amount (at the very 
reduced value of that year) than 4,518,832/.; and 
in the three years, 1821, 1822, 1823, to the enor- 
mous amount of upwards of sixteen millions ; 
whilst nearly the whole of the remaining exports, 
to the amount of upwards of ten millions more, 
in those three years, were composed of the pro- 
ducts of the Irish soil." Whether the immense 
quantity of cured provisions which Ireland sup- 
plies, in her own ports, to the royal navy, as well 
as the merchant shipping of this vast maritime 
empire, has to be added to these enormous amounts, 
I have not ascertained, nor is it necessary ; the 
argument is abundantly triumphant either way. 

" In the face, then, of such facts as these, the 
hardihood of attributing the misery of Ireland to a 
population redundant and excessive, in reference 
to the means of subsistence there produced, and 
of the appeal constantly made to that country in 
proof of the principle of population, as now ex- 
plained, is certainly without parallel, 

" No further proofs seem necessary upon a point 
absolutely incontrovertible ; I therefore conclude, 
that if Ireland, at the present moment, only par- 
tially and imperfectly cultivated, far more than 
sustains its inhabitants, the appeal to that country 
in proof of the evil principle of population, which 



HIS WORK ON IRELAND. 



multiplies mankind, faster than, and beyond the 
means of their subsistence, is at once disposed of, 
especially with those who regard human institu- 
tions as so light in the scale by which the indivi- 
dual shares are apportioned and distributed. 

" But, on so important a topic, practically 
speaking, as the population of Ireland, on which 
a fallacious principle, dictating a policy equally 
cruel and absurd, affects the welfare of millions 
of human beings, and even the existence of multi- 
tudes, a little prolixity stands in need of no ex- 
cuse. I shall therefore attempt to demolish the 
very remains of an argument which, T think, has 
been already completely shaken. And this I shall 
do by shortly considering the proofs by which it 
pretends to be supported ; all of which a very- 
little attention will disengage from the cause they 
are advanced to support, converting them, like 
all faithless auxiliaries, into its most formidable 
enemies." 

In advancing to the examination of these alleged 
proofs, Mr. Sadler observes, that "as far as I 
have been able to gather the opinions of those 
who speak the most confidently as to an excessive 
population in Ireland, and are the loudest in de- 
manding repressive measures in reference to it, 
they advance, in favour of their supposition, the 
folio-wing: reasons :— 



58 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

"I. The wretchedness and degradation of the 
people. 

" 2. Their want of employment. 

"3. The frequent return of scarcities. 

"4. The prevalence of epidemics. 

''These symptoms, indeed, we are instructed 
to believe, constitute everywhere the leading ones 
in the diagnosis of the inveterate, hereditary dis- 
ease of the human family, a plethora of numbers ; 
and clearly indicate the treatment required." 

He then demands, " but what will become of 
these proofs, or rather of the argument they are 
meant to support, when it is seen that they ex- 
isted to at least an equal degree, when, according 
to every possible view of the subject, Ireland suf- 
fered from a contrary extreme, namely, from a 
paucity of people ? In shewing that such was 
the case, a vast body of evidence is at hand, 
sufficient, indeed, to swell this inquiry to ten 
times its present size. I shall, however, limit 
myself to one or two authorities on each point, 
and refer those who may be dissatisfied with them, 
to the entire history of that country, which is, 
unhappily, almost exclusively made up of them. 

" Commencing with the first period of the pre- 
ceding table, viz. 1672, when the population was 
calculated at a little above a million, or, as since 
corrected, amounting to about 1,323,000, — none, 



HIS WORK ON IRELAND. 59 

I think, will care to assert that Ireland was then, 
at any rate, overpeopled, either in reference to 
its fertility or the population of surrounding 
nations. With a soil of surpassing fertility, and 
only about forty individuals on a square mile, the 
idea of excessive numbers would have been a 
farce ; it was a farce, however, which never en- 
tered into any one's head in those days. But the 
wretchedness of the inhabitants was more con- 
spicuous then, when there was not a fifth of their 
present number, than it is even at present. In 
proof of this, I appeal to the authority of one who 
had, probably, better means of forming an accu- 
rate judgment on the subject, and greater abilities 
in availing himself of them, than most of those 
numerous writers who have since adverted to it, — 
I mean Sir William Petty. For a description of 
the abject condition of the country at that period, 
I refer to his entire works, especially his " Ana- 
tomy of Ireland/' where its situation is minutely 
described ; and in giving a few quotations from 
him, I cannot but remark, that the condition of 
the bulk of the inhabitants, to have made so strong 
an impression upon him, when that of the same 
class in all countries was so wretchedly inferior 
to what it is at present, must have been miserable 
in the extreme. The houses of the commonalty of 
a country are always amongst the most obvious 



60 LIFE OP MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

criteria of their condition, and these he thus de- 
scribes : " lamentable sties," " wretched cabins,'' 
" such as themselves could make in three or four 
days," not worth five shillings the building, — the 
filth and stenches of which he fully explains, and 
which may be imagined without quoting him. 
So that their habitations had not much improved 
since the time of Edmund Spencer, who calls them 
" sties rather than houses, which were the chief- 
est cause of the farmer's so beastly manner of 
life and savage condition, lying and living toge- 
ther with his beast, in one house, in one room, in 
one bed, that is, clean straw, or rather a foul 
dunghill.'' But to return to Sir William : the pro- 
portion of such houses as these, if they may be 
so called, he thus gives: "160,000," says he, 
" out of the 200,000 houses of Ireland, are 
wretched cabins, without chimney, window, or 
door shut, even worse than those of the savages of 
America." The Earl of Clarendon says, in de- 
scribing them, that " they cannot be called houses, 
but are perfect pigsties ; walls cast up and cover- 
ed with straw and mud : and out of one of these 
huts, of about ten or twelve foot square, shall you 
see five or six men and women bolt out as you 
pass by, who stand staring about. If this be thus 
so near Dublin, (about twenty miles) what 
can it be farther up the country ! " 



HIS WORK ON IRELAND. 61 

"Their food at this period, it is hardly neces- 
sary to state, corresponded in wretchedness with 
their dwellings. We have it on the same autho- 
rity, that it consisted of " cakes, whereof a penny 
serves a week for each ; potatoes from August till 
May : muscles, cockles, and oysters, near the sea : 
eggs and butter, made very rancid by keeping in 
bogs. As for flesh, they seldom eat it." In a 
word, the " vice du pays/' to use an expression 
of Mr. Malthus's old Swiss friend, then existed in 
full vigour : " they can content themselves," says 
Petty, " with potatoes/' 

"As to their clothing, we find it described by an 
authority already quoted. Lord Clarendon says, 
" it is sad to see the people, I mean the natives, 
such proper lusty fellows, poor, and almost naked/' 

" Nearly half a century afterwards, when the 
population of Ireland, though increased, was still 
very thin, being, at the most, only seventy on the 
square mile, we learn that the wretchedness of 
the people was but little abated, its cause not 
having been removed. We still find them living 
miserably in their cabins, and many subsisting in 
a state of actual beggary. In the year 1718, the 
period of the fourth estimate of the population in 
the preceding table, Bishop Nicholson, writing to 
Archbishop Wake, describes the miserable condi- 
tion of the people, even in the north of Ireland, 



62 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

which he witnessed in proceeding to take posses- 
sion of the See of Londonderry, to which he had 
been previously promoted. He notices that "they 
were pleased to grant him a guard of dragoons ; 
but," says he, " I saw no danger of losing the 
little money I had ; but was under some apprehen- 
sion of being starved, having never beheld even in 
Picardy, Westphalia, or Scotland, such dismal 
marks of hunger and want as appeared in the 
countenances of the poor creatures that I met 
with on the road. The wretches lie in reeky sod- 
hovels ; and have generally no more than a rag or 
coarse blanket to cover a small part of their 
nakedness. Upon the strictest inquiry I could 
not find that they were better clad or lodged in 
the winter season. A ridge or two of potatoes is 
all the poor tenant has for the support of himself, 
a wife, and commonly ten or twelve bare-legged 
children." We shall see anon to what it was he 
attributed this wretchedness ; causes still in active 
operation, but which are very different from a 
"redundant population," and require other reme- 
dies than emigration. But to proceed with our 
proofs. A little while afterwards, Dobbs, a friend 
of Archbishop Boulter, and certainly the best 
versed in the general condition of Ireland of any 
man of his day, says, "our common people are 
very poorly clothed, go barelegged half the year, 



HIS WORK ON IRELAND. 63 

and very rarely taste of that flesh-meat, with which 
we so much abound ; but are pinched in every ar- 
ticle of life." I refer to Archbishop Boulter's let- 
ters for a full account of the distresses of the Irish 
people at this period ; and will content myself 
with a general description of them in the words of 
one more competent witness, Swift. " Whatever 
stranger took a journey amongst us," says he, 
would be apt to think himself travelling in Lapland 
or Iceland, rather than a country so favoured by 
nature as ours, both in fruitfulness of soil and tem- 
perature of climate. The miserable dress, and diet, 
and dwelling of the people ; the general desolation 
in most parts of the kingdom ; the old seats of the 
nobility and gentry in ruins, and no new ones in 
their stead ; the families of the farmers, who pay 
great rents, living in filth and nastiness, upon but- 
ter-milk and potatoes, without a shoe or stocking 
to their feet, or a house so convenient as an English 
hog-sty to receive them : " these, he says, " are the 
comfortable sights which await an absentee, who 
may be induced to travel for once amongst them." 
" The description may be brought down to a 
later period bye-and-bye; in the mean time, I 
would ask, whether this state of things was then 
owing to redundant and excessive numbers, in re- 
lation to the means of subsistence which nature 
had provided ? " 



64 LIFE OP MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

Mr. S. next grapples with the evil of want of 
employment, and proceeds to shew that in Sir W. 
Petty 's time, with a population of only 1,320,000, 
— that writer assures us that " the people of Ire- 
land are not one-fifth employed/' — and that Dobbs, 
when the population was only 2,300,000, says, 
" our weavers are starving for want of employ- 
ment." 

Proceeding to the circumstance of the frequent 
scarcities, which had been often adduced in proof 
of the redundancy of the population, Mr. Sadler 
shews, by the testimony of Mr. W. Petty in 1672, 
Archbishop Boulter in 1725, and Dr. Smith in 
1740, that far greater visitations of famine had 
fallen upon the island at those periods, with a 
population of from 1,300,000 to 2,300,000,— than 
have been known in our own times, with the num- 
bers of the people nearly quadrupled ! And a 
similar course of investigation exhibits similar re- 
sults, as to the prevalence of epidemic sicknesses 
and pestilential fevers. But having thus cleared 
away some of the fallacies with which the subject 
had been overlaid, Mr. Sadler advances a step 
" by inquiring, whether the alleged tendency 
in numbers to increase faster than food, is not 
false as it respects that country ; or to the still 
greater confusion of such a position, whether there 
has not been, (not to speak of tendencies merely, 



HIS WORK ON IRELAND. 65 

but facts,) an actual increase of food, far greater 
than that of the population, rapidly as, it must be 
confessed, it has accumulated ? I shall, of course, 
limit my inquiries, in this stage of the argument, 
to the surplus quantities of food raised in different 
periods ; that being the sole question in reference 
to the principle of population. In subsequently 
pursuing the subject, when accounting for the 
distresses which, nevertheless, exist in Ireland, 
I shall not imitate those who absolve human in- 
stitutions, in order to lay the miseries of mankind 
at the door of their Eternal Benefactor. 

" To anticipate an objection that may be made 
in reference to the nature of the general food of 
the country at present, about which so much is 
said, I mean the potatoe, let this suffice— the food 
of the native Irish was principally, if not exclu- 
sively, vegetable, long before the potatoe was 
known in Europe. Nay, in almost the first 
glimpses we have of them, they are represented 
to us as herbaceous, m^dyoi, for such is the expres- 
sion of Solinus. So they continue to be described 
by Spenser, and Holingshed, and Camden : the 
latter says, " as for their meats, they feed wil- 
lingly upon herbs and water-cresses, especially 
upon mushrooms, shamroots, and roots ;" in 
which he is corroborated by Ware, the Irish anti- 
quary, who wrote about the time when the ob- 

F 



66 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

noxious root was first introduced. The exchange, 
therefore, of the potatoe, which is all but bread in 
nutritiousness, and, as a sole article of food, 
greatly exceeding it in palatableness, and afford- 
ing a vaster and far more certain supply, for the 
plants on which they before principally subsisted, 
is one of the many changes brought about by an 
enlarging population, which none, I think, can 
deny is of a most gratifying character. 

" But not to annoy, unnecessarily, the opposers 
of population, by any further allusions to this root, 
let us confine our further inquiries to better fare. 
And, first, has the production of corn kept pace 
with the increase of the population ? In answer- 
ing this query, let the number of inhabitants, at 
each of the periods referred to, be still kept in 
recollection, and I think the selfish and cruel 
system will receive its death-blow, in the very 
scene where it meditates its triumph. 

" In the seventeenth century, Ireland imported 
grain. We are informed, on indisputable au- 
thority, that " great provisions, both of meat and 
drink, went daily out of the kingdom into Ireland." 
Coming down to a later period, " namely, a 
century ago, we shall find that grain, as well as 
other of the necessaries of life, were imported 
in large quantities. The average amount of what 
Dobbs classes under the heads of imports for 



HIS WORK ON IRELAND. 



67 



meat and drink, and materials for drinking, 
(including medicine,) was £344,550, annually. 
Some exports of grain of different kinds, he no- 
tices, there then were, but not such as by any 
means to balance the imports. This sum was on 
the average of eight years, ending 1726, and con- 
sequently exclusive of the years of scarcity pre- 
viously alluded to, when we are informed there 
were to the amount of from £100,000 to £200,000, 
in grain only, brought in. But to present the 
amount of these imports in ordinary years, and to 
contrast them with the exports of Ireland, at the 
period of the last census, 1821, and accompany- 
ing the statement with the number of inhabitants 
at each period, the following are the important 
facts :— 



IRELAND. 


CORN IMPORTED, 

On an average of 6 years, end- 
ing 1725." 


CORN EXPORTED, 

in 1821. 


Population, 2,300,000; or, 71 
on a square mile. 


Population, 6,801,827; or, 211 
on a square mile. 


Wheat 27,048 

Barlev and Malt . . 7,255 
Hulled ditto ... 677 
Flour 4,083 

39,063 


Wheat .... 1,038,937 
Oats .... 959,474 
Barley .... 78,588 
Meal (Wheat). . 252,010 
Oatmeal . . . 37,156 

Total value of 7 £2 ,366,165 
exports. ) 


Total value of im- ) 

ports at prices of r £78,126 
1821. * 



F 2 



68 LIFE OP MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

" Here, then, we see demonstrated the important 
political problem, whether population has a natu- 
ral tendency to increase faster than food, or other- 
wise. When Ireland, in 1725, only numbered 
seventy-one inhabitants on a square mile, she 
imported grain, in ordinary times, to the amount 
of twenty or thirty thousand quarters annually ; 
but when her population, on the same space, 
became trebled, she not only (of necessity) sub- 
sisted that number, and certainly not worse than 
at the former period, but actually exported a sur- 
plus of much above a million quarters ! 

" Should it be said that Ireland was, in the 
former period, a grazing country, in consequence 
of the impediments which landlords threw in the 
way of tillage^ on whose impolicy and cruelty 
Archbishop Boulter dwells very feelingly in many 
of his letters, till the evil was at length partly 
remedied by a legislative interference, the conse- 
quence of which was a vast increase of the pro- 
ducts in question ; I shall not argue this point, 
but betake myself to the produce of the pasturage 
of the country, (which, of course, must have been 
proportionably checked,) in order to discover 
whether there is a tendency in population to ex- 
ceed even these means of human subsistence, 
which confessedly take the largest proportion of 
surface, and the best soils to produce them. This 



HIS WORK ON IRELAND. 



69 



second inquiry I shall determine in precisely the 
same manner as before. Ireland certainly ex- 
ported cattle, and very largely, at the former 
period ; they constituted the bulk of her returns : 
has, then, the vast augmentation in the popula- 
tion, since that time, diminished, or rather anni- 
hilated, that export, and "absorbed" (to use the 
favourite word of the day) the surplus produce of 
the country, as it regards this species of human 
food ? The following facts will best answer that 
query : — 



IRELAND. 


Value of the Produce of Cattle 
and Sheep exported on the 
average of Eight Years, end- 
ing 1726. 

Population, 2,300,000, or 71 
on each Square Mile. 


Value of the Produce of Cattle 
and Sheep exported in 1821. 


Population, 6,801,827, or 211 
on edch Square Mile. 


Total average value, £623,177. 


Total value, £3,705,993. 



" The argument might be minutely pursued 
through the intervening period, but it is unne- 
cessary ; it is singular enough, however, to ob- 
serve, that midway between these two dates 
(1777), the population having considerably ad- 
vanced, there was nearly a balance between the 
imports and exports of grain, or, in other words, 
Ireland about grew its own bread. Since, then, 
the population has rather more than doubled, how 



70 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

has the constant tendency which our theorists 
perpetually assert been manifested ? By sextu- 
pling the agricultural produce. 

" With such facts as the preceding tables exhi- 
bit, recorded in the statistical annals of the empire, 
and which are, and long have been, published to 
the world, certainly the fatuity, not to say men- 
dacity, of these constant appeals to Ireland in 
proof that population naturally multiplies more 
rapidly than the means of subsistence, is without 
parallel. I challenge any one to add any thing 
in the way of illustration to the broad and glaring 
absurdity which such a principle exhibits, as ap- 
plied to Ireland. Let our political economists 
concede to a plain man of ordinary capacity that 
sound judgment in human affairs, which Arch- 
bishop Tillotson claims for such an one, even on 
the more mysterious truths of religion— a judg- 
ment which, whether they concede it to him or 
not, he most certainly possesses ; and let him be 
told the foregoing facts regarding Ireland : — that, 
a century ago, the population, then being but a 
little more than two millions, could not supply 
itself with grain ; but that now, with its inhabit- 
ants trebled, it is not only enabled so to do, but 
to export at least ten millions of bushels, as well 
as six times the amount in cattle, (perhaps about 
thrice as many head,) as at the former period ;— 



HIS WORK ON IRELAND. 71 

and could he be brought to understand and be- 
lieve that population there had advanced more 
rapidly than food ; or that, if things were suffered 
to go on thus, universal distress and ruin must in- 
evitably ensue, — in a word, that the principle of 
human increase operates in that island as an evil ? 
And what would it avail, were it told him that 
the cultivators were, in the mean time, faring 
most wretchedly themselves, and actually suffer- 
ing for want of sufficient support. He would 
instantly rejoin, why then do they not retain 
some part of these immense exports, to satisfy 
their own necessities ? And, if he were an 
English cultivator, he would be the readier to 
recommend such a measure. But, that he must, 
in compliment to the principle of population, see 
present suffering and future starvation awaiting a 
people, merely on the score of increasing num- 
bers, while he is shown that such increase has 
actually produced a far larger measure of super- 
fluous provision, which has to find a vent else- 
where, in quantities which actually inundate 
other markets, would be rather too much to de- 
mand from a man of common sense. Place such 
a man on the committee, and he would think 
about preventing the undue emigration of corn, 
and cattle, and pigs, rather than of promoting 
that of the people." 



72 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

These extracts will give some idea of the power 
of reasoning and extent of practical knowledge 
exhibited in this most original and masterly work ; 
and the style in which the fallacies of the econo- 
mists are trampled under foot, and, in fact, utterly 
annihilated, will sufficiently account for the bit- 
terness always manifested towards Mr. S. by the 
whole of that flippant and self-conceited body. 

Having thus cleared for himself a fair field, 
Mr. S. next proceeds to consider the expedients 
most commonly proposed, and to propound his 
own views, but as it is impossible for us to fur- 
nish, with any justice to the author, a syllabus of 
the whole work, within any space which might 
reasonably be allotted to it, we shall merely state 
that he discusses, successively, the proposed ex- 
pedients of Emigration, — Clearing, — The Preven- 
tive Check, — and Ecclesiastical Confiscation, and 
shews them, each and all, to be either impracti- 
cable or delusive, or both. He then opens his 
own view, which 

1. Shews that the grand evil which afflicts Ire- 
land is, the absence of a National Provision for 
the necessitous Poor; — and naturally recommends 
an immediate removal of this fatal deficiency. 

2ndly. Alleges, that these evils are much in- 
creased by the prevalence of Absenteeism, and 
therefore counsels a sedulous discouragement of 



HIS WORK ON IRELAND. 73 

this practice, and a consequent encouragement to 
Residence : and 

3dly. Since Ireland is and must long be, an 
almost exclusively agricultural country, counsels 
an " effectual protection" to this branch of indus- 
try, by " a system of efficient corn-laws." 

These subjects occupy the chief part of the 
work. Towards the close of the discussion 
Mr. Sadler makes this animated and powerful 
appeal to the economists ; — 

" Presenting, therefore, the foregoing calcula- 
tions and results, not as conjectures, but as in- 
controvertible facts ; not as accidents, but as the 
sure and constant effects of adequate causes ; I 
ask those who are proposing to thin Ireland by 
clearances, dispersions, or emigrations, or by 
whatsoever methods, whether they will still ven- 
ture to proceed ? It is clearly true, in respect to 
Ireland, as I shall show it to be of all other coun- 
tries to whose statistics I have been enabled to 
appeal, that to lessen the population at any par- 
ticular time, or in any given district, by whatever 
means, would, agreeably to an irreversible and 
benevolent law of nature, be the certain means 
of simultaneously increasing the prolificness of the 
remainder, and that, without " room being made" 
for an increased number of marriages, as some, 
who have not examined into this singular, but 



74 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER, 

universal fact, ignorantly suppose. And seeing, 
moreover, that, even in Ireland, as well as every 
where else, the distress is the greatest, and ever 
has been, at those periods and in those parts 
where the people are the fewest ; and that larger 
numbers there, also, are but other terms for a 
greater measure of prosperity ; on what imagin- 
able foundation do our theorists rest their anti- 
national propositions ? Presuming them ignorant 
of some of the foregoing truths, still, as the expe 
dients to which they would resort, in order to 
cure Ireland, have been tried over and over again, 
ages ago, and have invariably aggravated the evils 
they proposed to eradicate, why are they still per- 
sisted in, at the expense of injuring one branch of 
the empire, and outraging the feelings of the rest ? 
Supposing they could reduce Ulster to the " level" 
of Connaught, in point of population, and Con- 
naught to that of Sutherlandshire, cui bono ? I 
repeat the question : Is the distribution of the 
population of Ireland, taken in connexion with 
their condition, such as to sanction their views 
and arguments, or to contradict and silence them 
for ever ? Even in Ireland, wretched and im- 
poverished as she is, where is it that the inhabit- 
ants make the closest approaches to a state of 
happiness and prosperity, or, in a word, obtain 
the nearest to a fair share in the comforts which 



HIS WORK ON IRELAND. 75 

the empire at large administers to its people ? 
Where, but in Ulster, in which, I repeat, there 
are 407 inhabitants on the Irish mile ? Where is 
it that the wretchedness is the most conspicuous, 
and seems to be the most hopeless ? In Con- 
naught, where there are only 263, or about twenty- 
acres to every family ! and where, by the bye, we 
are told, on indubitable authority, that the dis- 
tress was at least as great as at present, when 
there were twenty acres to each individual ! 
What is it that makes the difference ? I answer, 
in the words of one who wrote much upon the 
subject, and to good purpose, had he been attend- 
ed to, — " numbers of men ! " And yet these 
economists would, had they it in their power, 
create, what they are perpetually raving about, 
" a vacuum!" God, however has decided for a 
plenum ; and the inspired voice of nature and rea- 
son, as well as of revelation, proclaims his com- 
mand/' Multiply — replenish the earth ; and subdue 
it :" and the experience of thousands of years has 
taught the world, and ought to have instructed 
such, that this is the only certain road to national 
prosperity, as well as individual happiness." 

And then, after a rapid exhibition of the true 
principle of human increase,— which subject we 
postpone to a future chapter, Mr. Sadler thus 
closes his work : 



76 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

" Ireland, therefore, I must repeat, is no excep- 
tion to the true principle of human increase ; a 
principle which, no more than the one that it 
opposes, can ever remain inert, and like that, may 
be " known by its fruits." It dictates to the feel- 
ings, and prompts the exertions of all who receive 
it. Demonstrably true, even with respect to Ire- 
land, it holds forth the most instructive lesson as 
it regards that country. It teaches those who 
have to do with its affairs, or who wish to dictate 
to and intermeddle with those that have, a far 
surer, as well as happier method of serving and 
blessing that country, than either transporting the 
people, driving them from their farms, deserting 
them in their distresses, or diminishing their num- 
bers, by any plans of cruelty or oppression, an- 
cient or modern. It proves the utter futility of all 
such attempts, the law of nature being universal ; 
the same as it respects the Irish, and, indeed, all 
other people, as it was with the Israelites, who, 
" the more they were afflicted, the more they mul- 
tiplied and grew ; " and that the way of dimin- 
ishing the fecundity of the Irish is not by the cre- 
ation of vacuums, but by replenishing those 
already made, by the deserters and enemies of 
their country. As this true principle of human 
increase is understood, and prevails, feelings of 
confidence in an all-sufficient Providence will be 



HIS WORK ON IRELAND. 77 

strengthened, and of cordial affection for our fel- 
low-creatures revived ; and benevolence, no lon- 
ger paralyzed by the influences of the contrary 
theory, will renew its wonted exertions in behalf 
of human beings, in the ways which God and na- 
ture have heretofore dictated and blessed. Even 
policy itself may at length be pleased to think, 
that what it never can, and nature perpetually 
does, regulate, may so be regulated for the best ; 
and, laying aside its dread of population, concede, 
at length, that to do justly, and love mercy, is the 
best and safest course for nations, as well as indi- 
viduals ; and that the surest way to preserve a 
people in peace and quietness, is to give them 
a permanent interest in the institutions of their 
country. 

" Instead, therefore, of adopting the measures 
now proposed, and recommended, indeed, a cen- 
tury ago, let us pursue a more natural, humane, 
and patriotic course. In the mean time let us 
speak less, and legislate not at all, against those 
poor labourers, who, being deprived of the work 
and bread that ought to belong to them in their 
own country, naturally pursue them to this ; and 
who meritoriously take the proceeds of their hard 
earnings to their own domestic hearths, — a con- 
duct that combines the very opposites of all the 
vices with which they are perpetually charged. 



78 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

Irish vagrants ! Who are the real, culpable va- 
grants, ye imperial legislators, about whom ye 
ought to bestir yourselves ? 

" Surely, Ireland is the last of all countries 
upon earth that ought to permit its people to 
starve from want of food, or suffer for want of em- 
ployment. As to the former, its surplus produce, 
even now, is probably greater than that of any 
other country in the world of equal extent ; and 
its surface might, on the very lowest calculations 
which our practical agriculturists have ever made, 
sustain in plenty far above ten times the number 
of inhabitants that it now nearly starves ; while 
" the wastes of the sea," to repeat Lord Bacon's 
expression, by which it is encircled, remain almost 
totally untouched. Demand for labour is, how- 
ever, wanted, in order to accomplish any ameli- 
oration in the country ; and that can never be ob- 
tained while the means of its remuneration are 
withdrawn, as well as the necessity for it destroy- 
ed, to so great an extent, by absenteeism, — in- 
flicting all those wrongs which have been the 
painful subject of consideration in the former 
pages of this publication. It is this grand evil, 
and the want of a national provision for the poor, 
which it renders the more necessary, to which 
much of the distress and turbulence of Ireland 
has been distinctly traced. Surely that country 



HIS WORK ON IRELAND. 79 

presents a noble field for the exertions of the real 
patriot ; there he might build himself an ever- 
lasting monument : the imperishable materials 
are at hand. Its natural capacities are unrivalled ; 
so are those of its people ; though both lie uncul- 
tured, abandoned, abused! In the character of 
its inhabitants there are the elements of whatever 
is elevated and noble ; these, however borne down 
and hidden, are indicated wherever their develope- 
ment is not rendered impossible. Their courage 
in the field needs no panegyric of mine, and has 
never been surpassed ; their charity, notwithstand- 
ing their poverty, never equalled ; even while I 
am thus writing, I will dare to assert, that, in 
many a cabin of that country, the god-like act of 
our immortal Alfred, which will be transmitted 
down to the remotest generations, the dividing his 
last meal with the beggar, is this instant being- 
repeated. And their gratitude for kindnesses re- 
ceived, equals the ready warmth with which they 
are ever conferred. In the domestic sphere, ac- 
cording to their humble means, they are unrivalled 
in fidelity and affection. I mean not to contend 
that they have not faults, and grievous ones ; but 
these are mainly attributable to the condition to 
which they have been reduced, and the manner in 
which they have been so long treated. They 
perhaps, mirabile dictu, feel no strong affection for 



80 LIKE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

those of their superiors, whom they rarely see, or 
see only to be insulted, — but whom they are per- 
petually feeding ; nor attachment to a government 
which they identify with their oppressors. But 
let them be treated as, it is confessed and declared 
on all hands, they ought to be : let their natural 
patrons and protectors return to them, not " for a 
short time, 5 ' as exactors and " drivers," but, per- 
manently, as kind and resident landlords ; let la- 
bour be fostered and encouraged ; let want be re- 
lieved, and life itself preserved, by a moderated 
system of poor-laws, which shall concede those 
humble claims to all, which God and Nature have 
immutably established, and which policy itself has 
long sanctioned : in a word, let the different ranks 
resume their equally essential stations, each per- 
forming their several duties ; and the social edifice, 
thus "compact together and at unity in itself," 
shall never again be shaken. These are the 
means, simple and obvious, though deprecated by 
inveterate selfishness, and ridiculed by theoretic 
folly, which would, and in no long time, renovate 
Ireland, and repay the wrongs of many genera- 
tions ; which would waken a nation into gladness, 
and spread a smile over the face of nature itself. 
The benevolence of the great would then be re- 
flected in the thankful and gratified demeanour of 
their inferiors. The mutual pleasure of giving and 



HIS WORK ON IRELAND. 81 

receiving favours would fill the cup of human hap- 
piness, agitate and heighten its pleasures, even to 
the very brim. The various and too often discord- 
ant elements of society would become purified of 
their inherent evils by this salutary admixture. 
Its several classes, weak in their division, and hos- 
tile as separated from each other, would, as they 
were drawn closer together in the bonds of mutual 
interest and affection, become indissoluble : not 
only, as the faded bundle of sticks, would they 
remain united and unbroken, but each, like the 
rod of Aaron, would again branch forth and blos- 
som into all the charities and virtues of domestic 
and social life. Then, indeed, the different ranks 
of society, instead of so many steps of a dungeon, 
descending down to lower and still lower depths of 
misery and degradation, would, like Jacob's lad- 
der, seem reaching up to Heaven, and the Angels 
of Mercy and Gratitude would be seen ascending 
and descending thereon, for ever ! " 

With the reception given to his work by com- 
petent judges, Mr. Sadler had every reason to 
be satisfied. Its sale was, for a work of this des- 
cription, on a topic most wearisome to the popu- 
lar mind, and opposed in its views to the reigning 
doctrines and hypotheses of the day, very consi- 
derable ; the first edition being quickly taken off, 

G 



82 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

and a new one demanded. In Parliament, too, 
and in the leading public journals, its value was 
at once acknowledged. " This work," said the 
Quarterly Review, "deserves to be generally and 
attentively read. The author has brought together 
a body of facts, and discusses, with great clearness 
and ability, principles of extreme importance." # 
" I quote this work," said Lord Darnley in the 
House of Peers, "as an authority on which I 
rely."f " Few dissent," said Lord Oxmantown, 
in the House of Commons, " from the theories it 
contains, more than I do ; but all must pay a just 
tribute to the industry, zeal, and ability, so emi- 
nently conspicuous in every part of it." J " The 
book on Ireland written by the honorable mem- 
ber for Newark," said Mr. Grattan, "contains 
more valuable information respecting the state of 
that country, than all the Heports that have ever 
been laid on the table of this House." || 

These testimonies may be allowed to possess 
some value, since they are given by men whose 
general line of politics differed greatly from Mr. 
Sadler's. But the most solid and substantial 
proof of the value of his work is furnished by the 
effects which have visibly followed its publication. 
We are aware, indeed, that in this, as in many 

* Quar. Rev. Vol. 38. p„ 53. f Mirror of Pari. May 1. 1828. 
X Ibid. June 2. 1829. || Ibid. Nov. 11. 1830. 



HIS WORK ON IRELAND. 83 

other cases, the connection between cause and 
effect has been little remarked ; nor, without some 
degree of attentive consideration, could we expect 
men to trace back a gradual and almost imper- 
ceptible, though nearly total, change in the pub- 
lic mind, through a course of several years ; and 
to detect the latent, but real spring of that great 
alteration. But if that consideration be given to 
the subject, there can be no doubt or hesitation as 
to the fact, that a revulsion or change, of a nearly 
total degree, has taken place in the public mind 
within the last ten years, on this question ; and that 
no adequate cause can be assigned for that great 
alteration, except the appearance of Mr. Sadler's 
work. Those who dislike to admit this mode of ac- 
counting for a change so rapid and so extensive, 
may point out, if they can, any other sufficient 
cause ; or may repose, if they prefer it, in the 
belief, that this mental revolution took place with- 
out any assignable cause whatever, 

Many, however, may hesitate to admit the fact, 
at least to the extent in which we have stated it, 
— that an entire change has taken place of late 
years, in the public mind, on this subject. They 
may look around on the political world, and find- 
ing all parties nearly unanimous, as to the neces- 
sity of a Poor Law for Ireland, may be ready 
to say, that, as far as they can remember, there 

g 2 



84 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

never was any other opinion — at least express- 
ed in any strength, or to any extent ; although 
practical measures have only recently been ma- 
tured and brought before the legislature. To 
such persons we should recommend a retrospective 
glance over the debates in Parliament, and the 
principal political and literary journals, from the 
close of the war, down to the appearance of Mr. 
Sadler's volume. We will furnish a few specimens, 
which have fallen under our own observation, and 
which will at least shew that a very different state 
of the public mind from that which now exists, 
was apparent during the period to which we have 
just adverted. 

To begin with the year 1820,— we find the 
Edinburgh Review of that date, so far from dream- 
ing of a Poor Law for Ireland, boldly, and without 
hesitation prescribing the complete abolition of all 
Poor Laws, even in England itself ! The passage 
is as follows; — 

" There are two points which we consider as 
now admitted by all men of sense ; first, that the 
Poor Laws must be abolished ;— second ; that they 
must be very gradually abolished. We hardly 
think it worth while to throw away pen and ink 
upon any one who is inclined to dispute either of 
these propositions."* 

* Edinburgh Review. Vol. XXXIII. p. 95. 



HIS WORK ON IRELAND. 85 

About two years after, in 1822, (July 25) we 
observe the Times newspaper expressing its fear, 
that the introduction of the Poor Laws into the 
sister country, was "a remedy little applicable to 
the state of Ireland. There is not one man in 
twenty throughout the south of Ireland," — it was 
added, — " who, under such a system, would not 
come upon his parish for relief." 

Passing onwards to 1825, we find the Edin- 
burgh Review again alluding to the subject, with a 
more immediate reference to Ireland. It says : — 
"The majority of our readers will, we apprehend, 
hardly conceive it possible that any one could, 
at this time of day, have seriously proposed the 
introduction of the English Poor Law system 
into Ireland, as a means of arresting the spread 
of pauperism." " If we were really desirous of 
immediately consummating the ruin of Ireland by 
instantly destroying the little capital she is pos- 
sessed of, and of eradicating whatever of pru- 
dence and consideration may be found in any 
class of her inhabitants, we could do nothing 
better than adopt the scheme in question." # 

Such were the views of the leading Whig 
periodical : and those of its only rival in North 
Britain, — Blackwood's Magazine, — were too nearly 
akin. In the preceding year, (1824) that maga- 

* Edinburgh Review. Jan. 1825. 



86 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

zine had indulged to a considerable extent in 
similar fancies ; not indeed denouncing the Poor 
Laws, but advocating the mischievous fallacy 
that a " redundant population " was among the 
chief evils which afflicted Ireland ; and of course 
urging the common remedy of emigration. 

"There exists, indeed, one evil, or as I would 
rather call it, obstruction to national prosperity ; for 
which, during the present general debasement of 
the popular mind, it seems altogether hopeless, — 
and for which, under any condition of the people, 
it will be very difficult, to find an adequate remedy. 
No person acquainted with this country will be at 
a loss to know, that I allude to its great and over- 
growing population." * 

" That there is a great redundancy of population, 
and that it cannot be effectually acted upon by 
the capabilities of Ireland, seems to be unques- 
tionable ; but we cannot agree with those who 
appear to think that this redundancy is an evil 
not to be overcome. We have immense territories 
which need peopling ; and we think no principle 
can be more clear than this, that if the population 
be redundant in one part of the empire, it is the 
duty of government, if it possess the means, to 
remove the excess to such other parts as need 
inhabitants." f 
* Blackwood's Magazine. Vol. XV. p. 13. f Ibid. p. 279. 



HIS WORK ON IRELAND. 87 

And in the same year, (1825) on the 22nd of 
March, a debate arose in the House of Commons 
on a proposition tending to the gradual introduc- 
tion of a Poor Law, when no less a person than 
Sir James Mackintosh delivered himself in the 
following decided terms ; — 

" He had only one observation to make on this 
question. It was his deliberate opinion, that the 
Poor Laws was the only curse which had not been 
introduced into Ireland ; and he earnestly trusted 
that the House would not consent to inflict it upon 
that country, after the experience it had had of 
their lamentable consequences in England." 

In the next year, (1826) this topic came inci- 
dentally before the House of Lords ; when, (on 
Feb. 15,) the Earl of Limerick " rose to express 
his astonishment that any individual could stir a 
subject fraught with such mischievous consequences 
as a proposition for introducing Poor Laws into 
Ireland. It had been said by somebody that 
Ireland was used to Acts of Forfeiture, but he 
could assure their lordships, that the introduction 
of the Poor Laws would be a general forfeiture of 
all property whatsoever." 

In 1827, on the ninth of March, a few words 
passed in the House of Commons; when Sir N. Col- 
thurst declared his opinion that " the introduction 
of Poor Laws into Ireland would be a most dan- 



88 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

gerous experiment" And Mr. George Dawson said 
" that he would omit no opportunity of raising his 
voice against them." 

In the next year, (April 1, 1828,) the subject 
was again alluded to in the House of Commons, 
when Sir J. Newport " was conscientiously con- 
vinced that if one thing more than another would 
rapidly tend to the destruction of Ireland, it would 
be the adoption there of the Poor Laws of Eng- 
land. It would be productive of the greatest pos- 
sible evils. He should deprecate it as the most 
dreadful visitation." 

And Mr. Peel " saw reasons enough to convince 
him that the introduction of the Poor Laws would 
ultimately be productive of great evils in Ireland, 
even if the machinery could be provided to carry 

them into effect He felt so strongly all the 

evils that would be produced, that he could hardly 
conceive any event that would induce him to con- 
sent to such a proposition." 

Such was the popular view of the question, 
when Mr. Sadler's work appeared. It opposed 
itself at once, and without the least reserve, 
to the general current, which, up to that moment, 
ran in a decidedly contra direction. Its weight 
and importance were at once admitted, as we 
have already seen, by various competent, and by 
no means partial judges. Its first effect upon 



HIS WORK ON IRELAND. 98 

the public mind was, to put an immediate end to 
those vehement objurgations of the proposition 
which had just before been so common. The 
leaders of the public mind, who had but lately 
been bold and decided in their tone, first became 
silent; and after a decent lapse of time, began 
to deal with the question in a totally different spi- 
rit. But it will belong to a subsequent chapter to 
remark the successive steps in these conversions. 
At present we shall content ourselves with observ- 
ing, that up to the year 1828, every attempt to 
introduce the subject to the notice of Parliament, 
was received with mingled astonishment and in- 
dignation ; — astonishment at its folly, and indigna- 
tion at its wickedness ; — and yet, at the end of ten 
short years, in the session of 1838, we observe a 
Poor Law for Ireland rapidly passing through Par- 
liament by majorities of ten to one; and the only 
enquiry is, why the Government had not brought 
it forward several years earlier ! Upon a re- 
cent occasion on which the bill was discussed in 
the House of Commons, one of the most promi- 
nent of its opposers (Mr. Shiel,) broke into a won- 
dering lamentation at the extraordinary change he 
had witnessed within seven short years. He said ; 
— " I cannot help expressing my surprize, when I 
reflect that, a very short time since, all the lead- 
ing men in the House, of all parties, were opposed 



90 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

to the introduction of any Poor Law into Ireland ; 
and now they appear, all at once, anxious to plunge 
us into extremities from which there will be no 
retreat. " # 

A more expressive, though involuntary, tribute, 
to the power and efficacy of Mr. Sadler's work, 
could not possibly have been offered. 



Mirror of Pari. June 2. 1837. 



CHAPTER V. 

A. D. 1829, 

MR. S. 

SPEECHES ON THE CATHOLIC RELIEF BILL. 

We have now accompanied Mr. Sadler to the 
threshold of his public career. He had long been 
known and appreciated in the neighbourhood in 
which his lot had been cast, and his recent pub- 
lication had brought him, in one capacity at least, 
into more general notice. One or two further 
and concurring incidents sufficed to draw him 
forth from a merely provincial sphere, and to place 
him before the nation in the light of a public cha- 
racter. His life had been, for thirty years, chiefly 
spent in the acquisition of that kind of knowledge 
which befits a statesman ; he was now to try his 
powers in another and more difficult line,— namely, 
in the application and public inculcation of the 
knowledge he had acquired, and the principles 
he had ascertained to be true. Of the probability 



92 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

of his success in this path, some of his friends, 
and those among his warmest admirers, enter- 
tained a degree of doubt. The possession of great 
talents, extensive knowledge, and the soundest 
principles, does not always complete the character 
of one who is competent to lead and to influence 
the minds of others. Many, it is true, we have, who 
exhibit much skill in displaying to the best ad- 
vantage their slender stock of knowledge ; but we 
have also a few who know far more than they 
can, with any degree of success, impart to others. 
Mr. Sadler, assuredly, belonged to the latter class. 
Not that he failed to attract considerable attention 
as a speaker, during his short parliamentary ca- 
reer ; but that the rank he took in the House of 
Commons, and his acceptability among its mem- 
bers, seldom bore any proportion to his just pre- 
tensions. He was, in fact, weighed down and ham- 
pered with the abundance of his intellectual stores. 
A wise man once said, that " if he had his hand full 
of truths, he would open but one finger at a time." 
And this maxim ought to be especially borne in 
mind by any one desirous of entering on an useful 
parliamentary career. That assembly, pressed 
with a constant load of business, and necessarily 
always full of haste and impatience, will seldom 
listen to dissertations, except from a very few 
favorites of established reputation. The begin- 



HIS ENTRANCE INTO PARLIAMENT. 93 

ner must confine himself to the rapid sketch, 
the terse observation, the happy application, the 
point well made out, and the whole glanced over 
with a rail-road rapidity. But this was not Mr. 
Sadler's style. Full of matter on almost every 
subject of real interest, he felt a constant difficulty 
in compressing his arguments, so as to render 
them sufficiently superficial and popular for that 
assembly. And thus it was that while the eight 
or ten speeches of length, delivered by him during 
the four years of his parliamentary career, defy 
all comparison with any others of the same period, 
for extent of knowledge, depth of argument, and 
justness of view, yet the speaker himself cannot 
be said, in the common acceptation of the term, 
to have been eminently successful as a parlia- 
mentary orator. The rising of Mr. Burke in that 
House is reported to have been usually the signal 
for a general adjournment to dinner : and although 
nothing equally strong can with truth be averred 
of Mr. Sadler — who always had an auditory, and 
often an attentive one ; yet it is certain that every 
one of his efforts in Parliament was far more justly 
appreciated by the country at large, than by those 
who had the advantage of listening to it. 

But it is time that we adverted to the circum- 
stances which led to Mr. Sadler's entrance into 
Parliament. As it was no object of his ambition 



94 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

or his desire, it is probable, that he would have 
closed his life as he began it, in the limited circle 
of a provincial town, had not some extraordinary 
circumstance called him forth. That circumstance 
was, the determination taken, by the Cabinet of 
the Duke of Wellington and Sir Robert Peel, in 
February, 1829, to adopt as their own, the mea- 
sure commonly called catholic emancipation. 

This event, probably the most momentous, by 
far, that modern history has had to record, cannot 
be passed over without a few observations. It 
was, indeed, described by its advocates as a mere 
act of justice, conducting us, in all probability, to 
no very remarkable results ;-— the bare removal of 
a blot from the statute-book, leading to greater 
harmony and contentment among the people, but 
nothing more. But these representations were as 
deceptive as all the other prophecies proceeding 
from the same quarter : such as,-— that the whole 
army heretofore maintained in Ireland might be 
disbanded on the passing of this act,— that it 
"would render the church in Ireland as secure as 
the church in Yorkshire ; " — and sundry other an- 
ticipations, equally flattering and equally false. 
We have now seen, but too plainly, the real nature 
of the step then taken, — a step which, instead of 
terminating all strife and contention, as its advo- 
cates promised, has proved but the commencement 



HIS ENTRANCE INTO PARLIAMENT. 95 

of a long series of struggles and of changes, the 
final end or real extent of which it is impossible 
for any one yet to prognosticate. One thing, how- 
ever, is sufficiently clear, namely, that a principle 
was then for the first time introduced into the 
British Constitution, which has subsequently 
shaken that Constitution to its very foundations ; 
a principle which is evidently not one of peace, but 
of contention ; not of harmony, but disorganization. 

The year 1828, which immediately preceded 
that in which the fatal step was taken, was marked 
by the appearance of divers "premonitory symp- 
toms " of the approaching evil. Among these, 
one of the most remarkable was, that of the 
simultaneous desertion of the Protestant ranks, 
or at least the public declaration of their adhesion 
to the " Emancipation " party,— -of several per- 
sons of some standing and consideration in the 
political world. One of these occurrences contri- 
buted, in an unforeseen way, to call Mr. Sadler 
into public life. 

The Pitt Club of Leeds held its usual anni- 
versary Festival on the 28th of May, 1828. The 
most remarkable event of the evening, was the 
appearance of the learned recorder of that town 
at the meeting, for the purpose of enforcing upon 
the members the inconsistency of which he judged 
many of them to be guilty, in denominating 



96 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

themselves " Pittites/' and yet opposing that line 
of policy with reference to Ireland, of which Mr. 
Pitt, during the latter years of his life, had been 
the constant advocate. Most men would have pro- 
tested against this inconsistency, if they deemed 
it such, by absenting themselves from the meet- 
ing : the gentleman in question took the more 
straightforward and manly course, of explaining 
his views to his political friends and associates, and 
of endeavouring to convince them of their error. 

There was, however, an obvious answer to this 
sort of reasoning. A deep admiration of Mr. Pitt's 
talents, and of his self-devotion to his country's 
cause ; and a sentiment of gratitude to God, who 
had raised up such a leader in the councils of Bri- 
tain, in the hour of her greatest need, — was not 
at all inconsistent with a recollection, that this 
same leader was human, and therefore liable to err. 
Nor could the opinions of Mr. Pitt in 1801, under 
the peculiar circumstances of that day, be a just 
and infallible rule for the guidance of his fol- 
lowers in 1828, amidst an entirely altered state 
of things. 

These and other considerations of a similar cha- 
racter, were adduced by Mr. Sadler, who rose 
immediately after the Recorder, and in a speech 
of great eloquence and power, addressed himself 
to the arguments brought forward by that gen- 



HIS ENTRANCE INTO PARLIAMENT. 97 

tleman. Mr. Sadler's reply was received with 
the strongest marks of enthusiastic approbation 
by the members present ; and very quickly found 
its way into the press, not only in Yorkshire, but 
in the metropolis also. The symptoms of defec- 
tion in various quarters, unhappily, were not to 
be denied ; but it was satisfactory to perceive 
that able and zealous champions were still to be 
found to uplift the Protestant standard, and to do 
battle manfully in its defence. 

The lapse of a few months brought on the 
opening of the Session of 1829, when the fears 
which had been entertained by many, for several 
months past, were fully realized, by the declara- 
tions of the Duke of Wellington and Sir Robert 
Peel, of the determination to which they had 
come, to endeavor to put an end to this most 
perplexing of all questions. 

It is impossible, at the present moment, to look 
back on that eventful period without being filled 
with astonishment. How came the question to 
be yielded just at that very moment when, to all 
human appearance, the chances of its success had 
diminished to the lowest ebb ? Not while France 
threatened our very existence, and union and har- 
mony at home seemed therefore so essential as to 
be worth almost any sacrifice ; nor yet at a later 
period, when Castlereagh and Canning, both de- 



98 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

termined advocates of " emancipation," led the 
forces of administration in the House of Com- 
mons ; — not then was this concession granted. It 
was reserved for a moment when the whole ma- 
chine of government was in the hands of men 
who had abandoned office and power only a few 
months before, rather than take part in an 
administration which, they feared, would be likely 
to favor these very claims ! To such a cabinet 
was it left, enjoying, too, the full possession of 
undisturbed power, and a freedom from all pro- 
bability of molestation, which enabled it to choose 
its own course with perfect freedom, — to a cabinet 
led in the one house by a man in whose character 
firmness and imperturbability seemed to be the 
leading features ; and in the other by the acknow- 
ledged champion of the Protestant cause, — to such 
a ministry was it left to accomplish, seemingly in 
the most improbable moment and by the most 
unlikely means, that " breaking in upon the Bri- 
tish constitution," to effect which the statesman- 
ship of Pitt and Grenville, and the eloquence of 
Canning and of Grattan, had so long essayed in vain. 
The strangeness of these circumstances seems 
scarcely susceptible of augmentation. Yet a mo- 
ment's reflection on the personal character of the 
two chief agents in the work, does seem to in- 
crease, if it be possible, the causes of wonder. 



HIS ENTRANCE INTO PARLIAMENT. 99 

In the one house we see a leader who had been 
raised to a peculiar eminence by the trust and 
confidence reposed in him by the people, as to 
this very point. We see him, too, especially punc- 
tilious as to his own personal honour, and priding 
himself, almost to fastidiousness, on the purity 
and consistency of his character as a public 
man. And yet this is the individual who comes 
forward, of his own free will, and unconstrained 
by circumstances, voluntarily to demolish his own 
long-cherished fame, and to place his name on 
record, for all future ages, as a singular example 
of political recreancy ; remarkable especially for 
this, that of all the conversions upon record there 
is no one resembling this, either in its rapidity, or 
in the apparent want of internal reason, or of ex- 
ternal motive. 

The other, and probably the chief actor in this 
lamentable work, furnishes still greater cause for 
astonishment. The most remarkable quality of 
this extraordinary mind, seems to be, the rapidity 
and precision with which, in every matter placed 
before it, the leading point is instantly singled 
out. Penetration and depth of foresight probably 
scarcely ever existed to such a degree in any other 
human mind. And in the next place may be named, 
that power of intellect which discerns with equal 
readiness, the necessities and the remedies of 

h 2 



100 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

every case. These qualities of mind, continually 
exercising themselves, without effort and without 
ostentation, have gradually so augmented the 
senatorial reputation of him who, a dozen years 
back, was looked upon as " a mere soldier," that 
there is some ground to apprehend, should his 
life be prolonged to any extent, the rise of a spe- 
cies of idolatry among the people ; or at least the 
establishment of a sort of mental despotism, in 
which the conqueror of the world shall be elevated, 
involuntarily on his own part, to the dictator's 
chair, by the voice of a people by whom no other 
mode of tyranny would be for a moment tolerated. 

Yet it was this impersonation of wisdom and 
foresight that committed the prodigious act of 
folly known by the name of u The Roman Catho- 
lic Relief Bill ! " And it was this clear and far- 
seeing mind, as to dangers and the modes of 
avoiding them, that perpetrated the drivellings 
called " securities," thereunto attached ! And are 
we to behold wisdom thus turned into folly ; cau- 
tion into rashness ; and a studious regard for cha- 
racter and reputation, into an utter recklessness 
of both, without acknowledging the visible work- 
ing of that hand " that turneth wise men backward, 
and maketh their knowledge foolish?" (Isa. xliv. 25.) 

Nor is it difficult to imagine a merciful and 
benevolent motive at work, even in the troubles 



HIS ENTRANCE INTO PARLIAMENT. 101 

and difficulties which this act of folly has brought 
upon us. For no kind of atmosphere, physical, 
mental, or political, is a state of long calm and 
stagnation healthful. Storms have their office of 
mercy, as well as peaceful showers. The winds 
that scatter the pride and beauty of the forest, 
force, at the same time, the roots of its mighty 
denizens more deeply into the earth, and thus 
strengthen, while they only seem to strip them 
of their verdure. Nor are we left to general 
surmisings, even as to the benefits derived from 
the political hurricanes of the last ten years. The 
act of 1829, intended by its framers as a settle- 
ment, has rather proved an unsettlement of every 
institution of the state. But out of the intermin- 
able strife and agitation which has followed, the 
nation has already derived extensive advantage. 
The purification of much which had gathered rust 
and corruption, and the removal of many things 
whose retention was by no means defensible, is 
already a matter of just rejoicing. We may pro- 
perly contemn and dislike the agitators ; knowing 
their motives to be vile, and their acts worthy of 
execration ; and yet look up with thankfulness to 
Him who " maketh the wrath of man to praise him; 
while the remainder of wrath he doth restrain." 

Nor would it be just to heap any very vehe- 
ment or peculiar condemnation on the chief agents 



102 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

in the great change of 1829. We have already 
remarked the extraordinary fact, that on that oc- 
casion their own peculiar and characteristic qua- 
lities seemed to be supernaturally eclipsed, or 
even exchanged for the exactly opposite failings ; 
— regard to consistency of character, for a reck- 
lessness of all honorable fame ; — clear-sightedness 
and forethought, for absolute blindness to ine- 
vitable results ; and the like. But having fairly 
taken this into the account, we ought further to 
admit, that the concession of 1829, was, to the par- 
ties so obscured, nothing but an almost inevitable 
result of the system commenced by Lord Liver- 
pool more than twenty years before. 

We allude to the " open-question " system : a 
course of action which as naturally tended to 
bring on the catastrophe of 1829, as the toleration 
or connivance granted to any vice, in public or in 
private life, is, to foster and mature that vice into 
the full maturity of unblushing and boastful crime. 

In re-forming his Cabinet after the death of 
Mr. Perceval, Lord Liverpool seemed to have said 
to himself; — " Talent I must have, at all events. 
Sound principle I will also endeavor to secure in 
the next place ; if it is conveniently to be obtained." 

Whereas the only wise and safe course lay in 
reversing these two considerations, and saying, 
" Sound principle I must have, at all events; and 



HIS ENTRANCE INTO PARLIAMENT. 103 

if it is accompanied by brilliant talents, so much 
the better." 

The great essential matters, truth and honesty, 
were unhappily made mere subordinates or acces- 
sories in his system. Genius and skill were pre- 
ferred to qualities of more enduring worth. Es- 
sentials and non-essentials thus changed places, to 
the fatal injury of the entire system. 

Lord Liverpool was a man of the highest per- 
sonal integrity ; and, except in his blind partiality 
to the follies of " political economy," — of correct 
views. But his mind was not formed for command. 
Circumstances, with him, often possessed an undue 
weight and influence. Instead of moulding events 
and men according to his own determinations, he 
seemed to take all kinds of successive impres- 
sions, from the ruling character or circumstance of 
the hour. And never did statesman introduce into 
politics a principle fraught with greater weakness 
and folly, than that of the " open question "policy. 

This policy was doubtless adopted, in the first 
instance, under the idea that it involved no con- 
cession on either side : — That two parties, fully 
agreeing on most subjects of national interest, but 
differing on some one question, might very ration- 
ally consent to place that one question in abey- 
ance, under a mutual compact of tolerance and 
individual freedom. 



104 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLEK. 

Any such supposition, however, was founded 
on an erroneous view of the relative position of the 
contracting parties. Such a treaty always sup- 
poses the existence, in the first place, of a ruling 
mind, occupying the station of premier, by whom 
such terms of union are settled and agreed to. 
And that premier, it must be assumed, has his 
own view of the matter in question. Nor are we 
imagining the topic in question to be one of tri- 
fling importance ; or such a compact, deliberately 
made and publicly announced, would never have 
been thought requisite. 

A premier, then, having, as a man fitted for 
such a station must be presumed to have, a clear 
view and a decided opinion on the subject in dis- 
pute; and that subject being one of great public 
importance, is desirous of the co-operation of an 
individual in some department of his ministry, 
whose opinion, on that subject, is at variance with 
his own. What is to be done, with reference to 
the point of difference ? The accustomed and 
only rational course, is, for the individual in 
question to consider whether that point is of suffi- 
cient magnitude in his eyes, and whether his con- 
victions with reference to it are sufficiently rooted 
and fixed, to constitute an insurmountable obsta- 
cle to his acceptance of office. Supposing him to 
feel a doubt on either of these points, and to arrive 



HIS ENTRANCE INTO PARLIAMENT. 105 

at the conclusion that he can do more good by 
surrendering his personal opinion on this one 
matter, and co-operating zealously on all others, 
than by standing aloof ; he may then with a clear 
conscience give in his adhesion. If not, then the 
question is, or ought to be, at an end. 

Lord Liverpool, however, thought otherwise. 
The pressure of a temporary emergency, probably 
caused the relative importance of the more perma- 
nent question of Protestant ascendancy to hold 
too subordinate a place in his mind. He, there- 
fore, as Premier, accepted the services of some 
distinguished men, without exacting from them 
an adherence to his own policy on this question. 
He, probably, hardly perceived, that the conces- 
sion on their part, in so consenting to act, was 
almost nothing ; while the yielding on his, was of 
the greatest possible moment. To be permitted 
as individuals, to support their own views of the 
question at issue, was the utmost that the parties 
in question could demand. To prescribe the po- 
licy of the Cabinet clearly was not theirs; — to 
assent and to maintain their own independent 
course of action was the utmost that they could 
claim. That utmost they obtained. On the other 
hand, the premier, to whom it of right belonged 
to decide the policy of his Cabinet, did, most un- 
questionably, by consenting to form a neutralized 



106 LIFE OP MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

and divided ministry, on this point, submit to a 
vast concession. He conceded, in fact, as subse- 
quent events proved, the ultimate success of the 
very question that he feared. And, as far as the 
present moment was concerned, he conceded this, 
which of itself was of the greatest importance to 
the question, — that he was willing to let it be seen 
by the whole country, that there were public men 
opposed to him in this matter, who, with office in 
view, yet refused to concede to him ; and who, on 
the other hand, could compel him to concede to 
them. 

And this is the main point to be kept in view, 
in every such compromise. The Premier who 
contents himself with an arrangement of this kind ; 
permitting some of his subordinates both to speak 
and to act in opposition to that course of policy, 
which he in his conscience believes to be essen- 
tially right ; will always be considered by the 
public at large to have confessed, either that he is 
not quite clear as to the justness of his own views, 
or that at least he does not hold the point to be of 
any vital importance. A drawn battle of this kind 
is, to the individual who ought to rule, more than 
half a defeat. In the case of which we are now 
treating, this was conspicuously seen. The Whigs, 
or Liberal party, were unanimous in their advo- 
cacy of " Emancipation." But those who, in all 



HIS ENTRANCE INTO PARLIAMENT. 107 

other respects, contended for the Constitution of 
1688, were, owing to Lord Liverpool's want of 
firmness, divided upon this. The ultimate result, if 
this state of things were permitted to continue, 
could not be doubtful. The very fact, of a divi- 
sion in the conservative camp, gave double energy 
to the assailing party ; while it filled the defenders 
with a fearful consciousness, that a position, so 
defended, could not, for any long period of time, 
be successfully maintained. 

A mind possessed of energy and decision, could 
not patiently contemplate a continuance in this 
position. Had Lord Liverpool been equal to the 
exigency, he would gladly have seized the oppor- 
tunity afforded by the death of Lord Londonderry, 
and the acceptance of the Indian government by 
Mr. Canning, to re-form his Cabinet on a purely 
Protestant basis. Had this been done, and had 
Sir Robert Peel, with three or four able support- 
ers, been employed to construct the administrative 
machine in the lower House on these principles ; 
the dissolution of 1826, with the question fairly 
and frankly stated to the country, and the legiti- 
mate influence of government employed to enforce 
its own views, would have given a majority of pro- 
bably a hundred votes against concession, and 
would have decided the question for at least half a 
century. The ulterior consequences need only be 



108 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

alluded to. Avoiding the disunion of the Tory 
party, we should of course have also avoided the 
wreck of the Duke of Wellington's ministry in 
1830; the irruption of the Whigs and all their des- 
perate struggles and expedients to retain power, 
from the Reform Bill of 1831, to the appropriation 
clause of 1835 ; — every one of which has been dis- 
honestly proposed, as arising, not from any sincere 
belief in its intrinsic justice, or national expedi- 
ency, but as a mere contrivance to gain popularity 
and maintain possession of office. 

Lord Liverpool, however, whether from mental 
insufficiency, or from incipient disease, shrank 
from adopting this decisive line of conduct. Al- 
though the danger hourly increased, and the mis- 
chiefs of the "open question" system became 
more and more apparent, he still persevered in, and 
in fact augmented the evil, by assigning a more 
prominent part to the chief advocate of the Ro- 
manists in the lower house. A rapid succession of 
changes followed, which ended in placing the 
helm of state in the hands of one, of whom it 
might very safely be predicated, that no system 
of imbecility and compromise could long be suf- 
fered to exist in a government over which he con- 
sented to preside. 

That the " open question " system, should be 
abandoned by the Duke of Wellington at the ear- 



HIS ENTRANCE INTO PARLIAMENT. 109 

liest possible moment, was altogether natural, and 
what might have been easily anticipated. Can 
any one at the present moment, even conceive of 
the possibility of such a state of things, as an ad- 
ministration presided over by that masculine and 
straightforward mind, in which, on a matter of 
vast public importance, half of the cabinet were 
openly and actively supporting one line of policy, 
and the remaining half a totally different one ? 
Does not the impossibility of the existence of such 
a predicament under the management of the Duke 
of Wellington, strike every one ; and does not this 
conviction of itself establish the fact, of the folly 
of those who permitted such a system to be car- 
ried on for nearly twenty years ? 

It was not, then, to be imagined by any rea- 
sonable man, that a cabinet in which the Duke of 
Wellington held a leading position, could continue 
in the course which had been adopted by Lord 
Liverpool. That course, dictated by weakness, 
ensured the constant growth and increase of the 
very principle which the amiable but irresolute 
premier himself personally dreaded. That growth 
and increase had of itself brought matters into a 
position which rendered some new determination 
indispensable ; even had it been otherwise possible 
for the " open question " system to exist under 
the new administration. All men, therefore, 



110 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

might reasonably look for a change in the policy 
of the Government. The great majority of the 
people of England, decidedly opposed to Popery ; 
delighted with the Duke of Wellington's govern- 
ment ; gratified to perceive that he had the power, 
and pleased to believe also, that he had the will, 
to take a new and bolder position of uncompro- 
mising hostility, — looked with eager expectation 
for a manifestation of the expected change. It 
came at last ; but it came to blight their hopes ; 
to fill their minds with grief, disgust, and dismay ; 
and to alienate their affections, in a very great 
degree, from the Tory or Constitutional party in 
the legislature. 

On the 5th of February, 1829, the houses of 
Parliament were opened by a speech from the 
Throne, in which his Majesty called their attention 
to the laws imposing civil disabilities on his Roman 
Catholic subjects, and recommended to their con- 
sideration the question, whether the removal of 
those disabilities might not be effected consist- 
ently with the full and perfect security of our 
establishments in the Church and State. The 
explanations subsequently given by the principal 
members of the administration in both houses, left 
no doubt as to the determination of the Cabinet to 
concede to the fullest extent, what it had been 
the practice to denominate " the Catholic Claims." 



HIS ENTRANCE INTO PARLIAMENT. Ill 

Various embarrassments and changes naturally 
flowed from this sudden alteration of the policy of 
the government. That, however, which had a 
direct influence on the fate and fortunes of Mr. 
Sadler, was one reflecting no disgrace on any of 
the parties concerned. Sir William H. Clinton, 
the Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance, was im- 
mediately informed that the " open question " 
system was at an end, and that all persons hold- 
ing office were required to support the line of 
policy now adopted by the government. But Sir 
William had been returned by the borough of 
Newark on a positive declaration of his hostility 
to the Romish demands. He had repeatedly 
voted against those claims, and had already, in 
the present session, been entrusted with a petition 
signed by nearly the whole of his supporters in 
the borough, deprecating the proposed concession. 
It was therefore clearly impossible that he should 
obey the " word of command" in this instance. 
The alternative of course was taken. He applied 
for the Chiltern Hundreds, and gave back his 
trust, with a clear conscience, into the hands of 
his constituents. 

There was probably no individual in the king- 
dom who felt more acutely on this subject than 
Sir William Clinton's noble relative, the Duke of 
Newcastle. Being the largest proprietor in the 



112 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

borough of Newark, the inhabitants had always 
been accustomed to seek for one of their repre- 
sentatives among the members of his Grace's 
family ; and it was in this way that Sir William 
Clinton's connection with the borough originated. 
On learning his relative's intention, his Grace, 
feeling the most lively interest in the discussions 
which were just opening in the House of Com- 
mons, and remembering Mr. Sadler's speech at 
the Pitt Club Anniversary of the preceding May, 
— wrote to him for the purpose of recommending 
him to proceed to Newark without delay, and 
there to announce himself a candidate for the 
vacant seat. After much hesitation, he decided 
on responding to this call ; and at once set out for 
Newark, where he found that letters had already 
been received by the persons most in his Grace's 
confidence, desiring their best exertions in his 
favor. 

He immediately commenced a canvas of the 
town, a work of some labor, — the franchise there 
appertaining to every cottage, and the number of 
electors being nearly 1800. His canvas was very 
successful, and he had every prospect of an un- 
opposed return ; — when a barrister of eminence 
from London, Mr. Serjeant Wilde, was suddenly 
brought into the field, and a contest of great 
warmth and exasperation commenced. Every 



HIS ENTRANCE INTO PARLIAMENT, 113 

possible effort was used to inflame the passions of 
the more ignorant among the electors, and so 
effectual were the means employed, that it was 
not until the third day that Mr. Sadler took his 
proper place upon the poll ; which closed, on the 
fourth, with the following numbers : 

Michael T. Sadler, Esq. - - - 801 
Thomas Wilde, Esq. - - - - 587 

Majority 214 

The return was made on the 6th of March, 
1829, and appeared in the Gazette of the 10th. 
Mr. Sadler spent a few days in Newark, in offer- 
ing his acknowledgments to his supporters, among 
whom were included almost every respectable in- 
habitant in the town, and then proceeded to Lon- 
don, where, on the 17th of the same month, he 
delivered his first speech in Parliament. 

The emergency probably forced him to this im- 
mediate exertion ; but, remembering the turmoil 
through which he had so recently passed, and the 
disadvantages which an unpractised speaker would 
necessarily experience, in preparing, after the 
fatigues of a contested election, and of various 
journies, for such an assembly as the House of 
Commons, we should naturally be disposed to 
receive with some degree of allowance, his first 
attempt in that difficult arena. But we have little 

i 



114 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

occasion to avail ourselves of such considerations. 
Mr. Sadler's introduction to the British Parlia- 
ment, under whatever circumstances of difficulty 
it might be made, was assuredly not one calcu- 
lated to disappoint his friends, or to lower the ex- 
pectations which the public at large had begun to 
form. The speech in question abounds with elo- 
quent and striking passages ; it produced a pow- 
erful impression on the house ; of which no better 
proof is needed, than this, that almost every 
speaker on the ministerial side of the house who 
followed him in the debate, addressed himself to 
the task of replying to " the speech of the honour- 
able member for Newark." Among these we may 
especially particularize Lord Palmerston and Mr. 
Robert Grant, — the latter of whom " could not 
refrain from expressing his admiration of the abili- 
ties which that honourable gentleman had dis- 
played." In fact, the unanimous feeling of the 
public was correctly expressed by the leading- 
minis terial journal of that day, which, while op- 
posed to him in party attachment, could not but 
admit, that this single effort " placed him at once 
in the first rank of parliamentary speakers." 

On the 30th of the same month he again spoke 
on the same question. This second effort proba- 
bly exceeded in intrinsic merit the former ; but 
wanting the eclat of a first appearance, and com- 



HIS ENTRANCE INTO PARLIAMENT. 115 

ing from a speaker from whom the public were 
now beginning to expect prodigies, it excited no 
surprize, and perhaps less admiration than its pre- 
decessor. The effect, however, and the circula- 
tion of these two speeches, throughout the coun- 
try, exceeded almost any previous example. As 
separate publications, in the form of pamphlets, 
they were circulated to the extent of at least half 
a million of copies. Nearly every town of import- 
ance had its own edition, while in the metropolis 
about twenty very large impressions were sold. 
It may be doubted whether, on the whole, an 
effort enjoying a greater share of popularity aud 
public favor, was ever made in Parliament. 

There is no doubt, however, that a large share 
of this popularity must be placed to the account 
of the peculiar circumstances of the case. The 
people of England were at that moment peculiarly 
in want of a leader of Mr. Sadler's mental powers. 
Deserted, in one moment, by almost every man of 
commanding talent among those on whom they 
had been accustomed to rely, they felt the bitter- 
ness of their situation ; in having, as they fully 
believed, the merits of the question with them, 
but all the leading advocates of the day drawn up 
in the opposing ranks. They therefore were just 
in the mood to hail with the most delighted ex- 
ultation the appearance of a man of genius and 

i 2 



116 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

intellectual power, who offered himself at the mo- 
ment to raise their fallen banner. All this must 
be admitted, when we call to mind the extraordi- 
nary popularity of Mr. Sadler's first parliamentary 
efforts. Still, however, while we would not be 
guilty of the folly of claiming for these hasty effu- 
sions an equal rank with the greatest efforts of 
the first ornaments of English senatorial history, 
we must assert for them the degree of merit which 
is truly their own. They were impassioned and 
energetic appeals to feeling and to principle, and 
they contain several passages of great force and 
beauty. It would be wrong to fill these pages 
with large extracts from addresses already so ex- 
tensively known ; but two passages appear to us 
of such value that we must venture on their intro- 
duction ; believing that they have a permanent 
value which will justify their repetition on any 
proper occasion. 

" But if we object to this change in the con- 
stitution of our country in itself, we resist it yet 
more strenuously in consideration of its certain 
consequences; — consequences which are already 
but ill disguised by not a few of those who zea- 
lously support this measure. That the real liber- 
ties of the people will be put in jeopardy, I feel 
confident ; that the United Church of England 
and Ireland will be placed in peril the moment 



HIS ENTRANCE INTO PARLIAMENT. 117 

this Bill is passed, is quite certain ; as has been 
proved over and over again, by the very men who 
now support the proposition." * * 

" This individual Act may, indeed, recognise its 
rights ; what may the next do, when you have 
reinforced the ranks of legislation by a number of 
its implacable and conscientious enemies ? The 
real object of attack, Sir, as has been often as- 
serted here, is the Establishment, or rather its pri- 
vileges and immunities. The war is commenced, 
and it is commenced in this place. The first 
parallel is nearly completed, — it may point dia- 
gonally,-— another will be marked out in an oppo- 
site direction, till the whole will be completed, — 
till the gates of the constitution will have been 
approached, the breach effected, and its ancient 
ramparts levelled with the dust; and the final 
triumph will be over the most tolerant, the most 
learned, and the most efficient religious establish- 
ment with which any country has ever yet been 
blessed." * * # # # * # 
" I see, indeed, an oath is to be taken which ver- 
bally forbids Roman Catholics who take it from 
overturning the establishment ; but they must be 
more or less than men to be enabled to keep such 
an oath. Totally inefficient as a security, it is 
immoral in its nature ; it establishes a war be- 
tween words and principles, between oaths and 



118 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

conscience ; and which will finally prevail, needs 
no explanation. 

" When a number of Roman Catholics, then, 
shall have become seated in this house, to suppose 
that they will not feel disposed to lessen the influ- 
ence of, and finally to destroy, a church which they 
conscientiously abhor, is absurd. That they should 
not make common cause for a similar purpose 
with other parties, inspired by similar views and 
feelings, is impossible ; and though I have heard 
honourable members inveigh strongly against the 
supposition, the sure operation of adequate mo- 
tives will bring about this union, and will direct 
its energies and its efforts against the common 
object of its hostility, — the establishment. Much, 
indeed, has been said about the weakness of such 
a party in point of numbers ; but a party acting 
invariably in unison on this point will, as has 
been well urged, ultimately carry it, and, with it, 
all others of vital importance. They will form 
the nucleus of a growing party, to whom the 
measures of the crown must always be rendered 
palatable, and who, consequently, will so far dic- 
tate the future policy of the country. Such has 
been the case in past times ; the most important 
events that have ever occurred in our history have 
been carried by far smaller majorities than these 
could form, acting together, and, consequently, 



HIS ENTRANCE INTO PARLIAMENT. 119 

holding the balance between the other different 
parties in the State ; — need I instance the Revo- 
lution and the Act of Settlement, — deliverances, 
which, if they could have been accomplished at 
all, could have been secured only by wading to 
the liberties of England through seas of blood, 
had not Popery been expelled from the legislature 
of the country." 

" What then is the apology for this strange 
course, in which cowardice and apostasy are the 
avowed guides ? It is expediency. Sir, I shall 
dwell for a moment on this new dogma, which I 
already perceive to be the alpha and omega of the 
modern school, and which I have been rebuked 
again and again for repudiating from the science 
of politics. I glory, Sir, in the rebuke, — in the 
quarter from which it comes, — in the cause on be- 
half of which it is given. Expediency, the arbiter 
as to the future religious character of our Consti- 
tution ! Expediency, illumined by religion, and 
fortified by principle, is, indeed, a safe adviser; 
but what is it when it purposely divests itself of 
both? Expediency then, Sir, is the ready apo- 
logy of the practised intriguer ; the excuse of the 
ambitious slave ; the justification of the inexorable 
tyrant ! In a word, the lip-defence of the most 
unprincipled policy, of the most heinous crimes 
that have ever disgraced or desolated the earth. 



120 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

And is this principle, Sir, to supplant, and in this 
hitherto Christian country, that safe, that neces- 
sary, that universal guide of human beings, in the 
most exalted, as in the humblest walk of exist- 
ence, the rule of right ; a rule as inflexible as its 
Author, and which, like all his ordinations, how- 
ever shrouded for a moment by doubts and diffi- 
culties, will ultimately resolve itself into benevo- 
lence, justice, and truth? 

" But, Sir, it may be thought I am dogmatizing 
in morals instead of addressing myself to policy, 
when thus speaking of expediency. I will there- 
fore remove the argument in order to place it on 
the foundation of human experience. Sir, history 
opens at every page on instances, inscribed in the 
most appalling characters, of the just punishment 
which has ever awaited individuals, or bodies 
of men, or nations, when following so selfish and 
tortuous a path. I will not speak, Sir, of the 
pecuniary injuries it has perpetrated, the indivi- 
dual spoliations of property, or the degradation of 
rank it has occasioned ; I will present a more 
general view of its effects on society at large. 
Take an instance or two. What, Sir, did this 
expediency do for France, when, at the com- 
mencement of a state of things, upon which I 
fear we are now entering,— it was adopted as 
the rule of public men ;— when the benevolent 



HIS ENTRANCE INTO PARLIAMENT. 121 

Louis, after having established a free constitution 
in behalf of a beloved, but fickle and ungrateful, 
people, was surrounded by a knot of expediency- 
mongers, who, whether sincere cowards, ambitious 
knaves, or hypocritical traitors, advised the sur- 
render of one principle and prerogative after ano- 
ther, till Christianity itself was extinguished, and 
the taper of expediency glimmered in the moral 
darkness which then fell upon that desolated coun- 
try, when all that was venerable or just was swept 
away, and the life of the monarch himself was the 
last sacrifice upon the altar of this expediency ? 

" But an appeal to a neighbouring nation, whose 
past events, I fear, are already casting their dark 
shadows upon the pages of our own fate, and 
adumbrating the course we are infatuated enough 
to pursue, may not be admitted, especially by the 
vindicators of its revolution. Let us then turn to 
the experience of our own country, and see the 
inevitable consequences of following, in the hour 
of real difficulty, such a guide. Let, Sir, the ap- 
propriate appeal be to the previous downfall of 
your own Church and Monarchy. It was at that 
period that this very House thought it expedient 
to mark out a noble victim, not indeed, either as 
a human being, or a patriot perhaps, without his 
failings, but who bore towards his King and 
country a faithful and a loving heart,— I mean the 



122 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

great Strafford, — (whose noble descendant I re- 
gret to see opposed to me on this occasion, and 
whose rebuke, touching this very expediency, I 
have received,) — it was expedient, Sir, that he 
should be sent to his trial, -—it was expedient that 
those by whom he was tried should pronounce 
him guilty ; lastly, it was expedient that his 
Sovereign should sign the warrant that surren- 
dered the most faithful of his adherents to death, 
to calm and tranquillize, as it was then pretended, 
the public mind ; all animosities, it was promised, 
should be buried in the grave of the victim, over 
which a long and perpetual friendship between 
Sovereign and subject was to be compacted and 
proclaimed. All this was promised, and by ' large 
and triumphant majorities.' How well that assur- 
ance was justified by the result, all who hear me 
know ; — how far the grave of the murdered minis- 
ter was apart from the grave of the murdered Mo- 
narch ! The denouement of this tragedy, of which 
expediency was again the prompter throughout, 
was exhibited in the front of that edifice which I 
see you are now repairing. Expediency destroyed 
the Church, — it murdered the King ! 

" But where might we end these appeals? One 
more shall be made ; and as the matter and cause 
at issue are, in spite of all assertions to the con- 
trary, plainly sacred, a most appropriate one. It 



HIS ENTRANCE INTO PARLIAMENT. 123 

was when a temporizing minister of an ancient 
people was anticipating the difficulties of their situ- 
ation, and making, in his day, his ' choice of evils,' 
and appealing to the dangers to be apprehended 
from the interference of foreign power, as do the 
advocates of the present measure, that he deter- 
mined an unexampled act was to be perpetrated, 
' lest the Romans should come and take away 
their place and nation.' ' It is expedient,' said 
he, ' that this man should perish ? — that this sa- 
crifice should be made ! ' Sir, the present occa- 
sion is only less important than that. Protestant 
Ascendancy is now the victim, — Expediency still 
the priest. That sacred principle for which our 
fathers struggled so doubtfully and long, and 
which they deemed cheaply purchased at the ex- 
pense of life,— -that principle which has plant- 
ed liberty, civil as well as religious, of the press 
as well as of conscience, in this happy country, 
and which has watered the sacred plant so pro- 
fusely with its best blood ; which has diffused 
its lights abroad till it has rendered this country 
the preceptor of mankind ; which has nerved its 
arm and manned its heart in the hour of danger, 
and constituted it the champion as well as the 
exemplar of freedom, — that principle which has 
fostered the learning, liberated the genius, warmed 
the charities, purified the morals of this great Pro- 



124 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

testant nation ; — a principle * the noblest,' as the 
great Chatham exclaimed, ? for which ever Mo- 
narch drew his sword, or subject shed his blood,' 
is about to be surrendered from a cowardly appre- 
hension of dangers, which, however, the advocates 
of this measure do not pretend that it will dissipate, 
but only change, — not remove, but, perhaps, post- 
pone. It is about to be surrendered to expediency! 
In a choice of evils, it is asserted that this 'breaking 
in upon the Constitution' would be the lesser one ! 
" Sir, the measure ought not thus to be pre- 
sented; it is a choice of evil in preference to good. 
Banish, Sir, this crooked policy ; this disgraceful 
guide, and the choice will be good ; present and 
permanent good. In the ancient path in which 
your ancestors so nobly trod, there may indeed be 
difficulties interposed, obstacles to be overcome, 
as in the path of duty and of glory there ever 
have been ; but meet them nobly, they will but 
heighten your achievement and increase its re- 
ward. Preserve your Constitution ; defend your 
establishments ; become the true friend, the real 
benefactor, of Ireland ; succour and save her by 
safer, kinder, surer methods than those now pro- 
posed ; and your patriotic efforts will have the 
approbation of your own consciences, the gratitude 
of your country, and the applauses of posterity." 



CHAPTER VI. 

A.D. 1829. 
REMAINDER OF HIS FIRST SESSION IN PARLIAMENT. 

It will be sufficiently obvious to every one of the 
least reflection, that while a favourable commence- 
ment of a parliamentary career, must be in gene- 
ral a most auspicious circumstance, a debut of pro- 
digious and perhaps excessive eclat is of all things 
the most undesirable. Such was the sensation pro- 
duced by Mr. Sadler's first efforts, and such the 
impression left by them on the public mind, that 
no human powers could have sufficed to maintain 
that impression. The multitude generally, too, 
are not accustomed to discriminate wisely, or to 
take into their account the various circumstances 
of every case ; and thus it necessarily happens that 
they generally overpass the limits of truth and jus- 
tice, both in their blame and in their approbation. 
There can be no doubt, that the common feeling, 
on finding that Mr. Sadler was not about to make 
a brilliant speech at least every alternate week, 
was that of disappointment mingled with some 



126 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

degree of discontent. And hence arose a preva- 
lent notion, which is yet often to be met with, — 
that Mr. Sadler fell short of the promise of his 
first appearance ;- — that he was equal to a single 
effort, but not competent to sustain that effort 
through a whole career ; that, in short, he vaunted 
for a while in the foremost ranks, but soon fell 
back into a lower and more befitting station. This, 
however, was an unjust judgment, not only as being 
untrue, but as being altogether the reverse of the 
truth. There is no doubt, indeed, that a degree of 
eclat attended Mr. Sadler's first efforts in Parlia- 
ment, which was in a great measure absent during 
the rest of his career ; but for that eclat, which 
arose mainly from extrinsic circumstances, it 
would be the extremest absurdity to make him ac- 
countable. And, throwing all such considerations 
out of view, and sitting down to the perusal of Mr. 
Sadler's speeches, without any regard to the pass- 
ing opinions of the day, there is no competent 
judge who will feel the least doubt, that, so far 
from declining from his earliest brilliancy,— his 
efforts rather rose than diminished in power and 
talent, and his latest addresses were his best. 

One trivial circumstance, indeed, assisted the 
spread of the impression, that his powers had 
been exhausted by a single effort,— and that cir- 
cumstance was, the state of lassitude and inertness 



HIS ENTRANCE INTO PARLIAMENT. 127 

into which the political world seemed to fall, im- 
mediately the great apostacy of 1829 was com- 
pleted, and the struggle of contending principles 
was over. Disgust and discontent brooded over 
one portion of the house, while the other contem- 
plated their victory with doubtful misgivings ; and 
thus, between both, the session of 1829 wore out 
its remaining weeks amidst a variety of mixed and 
perplexed feelings on all sides. 

It is well known, that Mr. Sadler's personal 
feelings were so involved in the Protestant cause, 
for which he had just been pleading, that the sen- 
timents of disgust and almost of despair, to which 
we have just alluded, took strong possession of his 
mind. Nevertheless, as the session advanced, 
and divers measures came before the House, touch- 
ing which he entertained very decided opinions, 
he began to address himself to his duty, and to 
take his fair share in the discussions which arose. 

The question of Free Trade came before Parlia- 
ment, as involved in the measures proposed for the 
governance of our Silk Manufacturers ; and on this 
topic Mr. Sadler spoke briefly on the 13th of 
April, and a second time, and at more length, on 
the 1st of May. He also took part, on the 19th 
of May, in the debate on the Anatomy Bill. 

But the circumstance which tested and esta- 
blished his powers and his character, occurred in 



128 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

the course of a discussion on his own question, that 
of Poor Laws for Ireland, which was brought be- 
fore the House of Commons, without any concert 
or communication between him and the mover, 
by Mr. Villiers Stuart, on the 7th of May. This 
occasion was seized upon by Mr. Wilmot Hor- 
ton, the chairman of the Emigration Committee, 
whose reports Mr. Sadler had handled somewhat 
roughly in his work on Ireland,-— to call Mr. S. to 
a public account for his statements and reasonings 
on that work. At a moment's notice was the as- 
sailant met, and most triumphantly overthrown : 
in fact, the house rung with cheers when Mr. 
Sadler concluded his reply. Galled at his defeat, 
Mr. Horton sought for another opportunity of grap- 
pling with his antagonist. On the 4th of June he 
offered a series of resolutions to the house, avow- 
edly as a mere expedient by which he might re- 
new his controversy with Mr. Sadler. Again was 
he met, without preparation or hesitation, and 
again was his defeat the most signal. Mr. Sadler's 
speech on the second of these occasions, contains 
passages of such terseness and power, that we 
should be inclined to extract largely from the re- 
port, were it not better, perhaps, on the whole, to 
offer our readers the sketch of this little contro- 
versy which we find in the pages of one of the 
leading periodicals of that day. 



FIRST SESSION IN PARLIAMENT. 129 

" Mr. Sadler possesses a promptness and dex- 
terity which render his resources readily available 
in the emergencies of debate, and cause his most 
expert and experienced adversaries to feel that he 
is not to be taken at fault, and that he is always 
prepared to give a reason for the faith that is in 
him. Perhaps no one would be more inclined to 
acknowledge this than poor Wilmot Horton. 
That pertinacious experimentalist (the most per- 
severing and indefatigable of tentative legislators) 
was not easy until he selected Sadler for single 
combat in the House, and called upon him — a 
thing somewhat unusual — to answer, " in propria 
-persona" for certain allegations respecting the 
Emigration Committee, which were contained in 
his work on the State of Ireland. The answer 
was accordingly given, and the baffled querist was 
put to silence, if not to shame. It was so fully, 
so eloquently, so completely given, as to give rise 
to the suspicion that the question, instead of being 
a stratagem to take him by surprise, was a contri- 
vance concerted for the purpose of enabling him 
to appear to advantage. But that suspicion Wil- 
mot Horton himself speedily removed, by the im- 
pertinent and unseemly repetition of his interroga- 
tories. He was again in the field ; and, armed at 
all points, he again threw down the gauntlet to 
his reposing conqueror. Sadler met him again at 

K 



130 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

a moment's notice, and his figures, both arithme- 
tical and rhetorical — which he was persuaded, by 
some laughing demon, to consider a divinely-tem- 
pered shield and spear, which must render him 
invincible in mortal combat — shivered into frag- 
ments at the Ithuriel touch of the weapons em- 
ployed by his calm and resolute assailant, whose 
manly understanding detected the sophistry, and 
whose honest English feeling exposed the inhu- 
manity of a system, the cruelty and injustice of 
which is only equalled by its extravagance and 
absurdity. To Wilmot Horton's credit be it spo- 
ken, that from that day forth he asked him no 
more questions. "* 

On the 12th of June Mr. Sadler presented an 
important Petition from the hundred of Blackburn 
in Lancashire, signed by about 12,000 persons, 
complaining of the distressed state of their trade, 
and craving the attention of the house to their 
situation. A debate arose on this petition, and 
Mr. Sadler twice addressed the house with much 
power. This was, we believe, the last occasion 
on which he spoke, during that session, as the 
house shortly after was prorogued. 

In returning homewards, Mr. Sadler tarried for 

* Blackwood's Magazine. Aug. 1829, p. 234. 



FIRST SESSION IN PARLIAMENT. 131 

a few days at Newark, having received an invita- 
tion to dine with his constituents at the Town 
Hall, on the 24th of July. We select from his 
speech delivered at that dinner, a single passage, 
as indicative of the course which the speaker was 
already taking, and which, as we shall hereafter 
frequently observe, continued to be his own pecu- 
liar and characteristic line, during the whole of 
his continuance in Parliament. 

Having adverted, as it was natural to do, to the 
great subject of discussion during the past session, 
Mr. Sadler soon passed to that which was ever 
uppermost in his own mind, — the condition of the 
great mass of the people. The numerous peti- 
tions which had been presented during the latter 
part of the session, bore testimony to the existence 
of a great amount of distress, and that among 
many different departments of industry. It was 
to such questions as these that Mr. Sadler's mind 
constantly recurred : 

" What, I would ask, is the cause of this state 
of distress ? A state which returns at lessening 
intervals, and which, at every repeated visitation, 
inflicts on the country increasing and long-conti- 
nued sufferings ? Various indeed have been the 
causes to which these distresses have been attri- 
buted ; and many " explanations " have been 
given on the subject. At one time it was said 

k 2 



132 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

that we had too little industry, and at another 
they were ascribed to over-production. Then 
there was a scarcity of money, and to this suc- 
ceeded an excess of capital ; — afterwards it was the 
farmer, and then again it was the banker — and 
now, it is said, " our distresses are owing to causes 
over which Government has no control," and 
therefore it is attributed — to Providence ! And 
thus is the government always ready enough to 
claim the merit of national prosperity when it is 
enjoyed ; but still more anxious to throw the suf- 
ferings of the country upon " Providence " or the 
people, when general distress is experienced. I 
believe, however, that " Providence" is innocent 
of the infliction, and that these sufferings are in a 
great measure chargeable upon the absurd and 
anti-national policy which has been adopted of 
late years ; and that they are remediable by re- 
turning to a wiser, a kinder, and more rational 
course : one by which the nation rose to its 
princely height and balmy state of prosperity, and 
from which it has regularly declined since an 
opposite policy has been adopted. No, it is not 
to God, but to men, whose duty it is to inquire into 
the cause of these sufferings, that they are attributa- 
ble ; and if government and the legislature cannot 
prevent these distresses, at least they have the 
power, and ought to shew the disposition, to solace 



FIRST SESSION IN PARLIAMENT. 133 

those who are ground down to the earth by pover- 
ty, by convincing the country that they are de- 
sirous of finding out what are the causes of these 
great calamities. 

" But " why mourns the muse for England ?" 
— England, which, beyond all other nations 
upon earth, has all the elements of national 
prosperity within itself, heightened and en- 
hanced by every thing which can give those 
elements their utmost value, and invest them with 
perpetuity. A country of unexampled fertility ; 
capable of sustaining by its own means, and in 
plenty and prosperity, many millions more than 
it now almost starves ; with riches beneath its 
surface, of incalculable value : possessing a mine 
of inexhaustible wealth around her shores ; with 
territories all but boundless in extent, which, 
spreading like a zone round the habitable globe, 
pour into her lap the products of all climes, and 
open a communication with every country upon 
earth : favoured beyond all other nations in cli- 
mate ; fortunate in position ; and above all, pos- 
sessing a population unrivalled in industry, in 
enterprise, in character, and in capital ; and 
having enjoyed all these advantages during a long 
and uninterrupted peace ! What, I would ask the 
statesman, are the causes which are shaking the 
very foundations of our national prosperity ; and 



134 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

inflicting misery on the great mass of the po- 
pulation ? This is the fearful political enigma, 
which it behoves the Government of this country 
to attempt to solve ; and which must he solved 
speedily to the better satisfaction of every class of 
the community, or a state of things still more fearful 
may be apprehended. When to physical force 
the impetus of hunger is superadded ; it requires 
little foresight to prognosticate the result. 

" Gentlemen, I repeat, that I think the dis- 
tresses under which the nation is now labouring 
are remediable ; — remediable, not by the adoption 
of some new theory, — by the application of some 
untried experiment, — by the exhibition of some 
mere political panacea ; but by returning to so 
much of that sound and genuine policy of our 
more humane, if not wiser, forefathers, as the 
altered circumstances of the country may render 
practicable. By fostering and encouraging indus- 
try, whether agricultural, manufacturing, or com- 
mercial ; by restoring a full and yet a healthy 
circulation, objects of identical instead of incom- 
patible pursuit, whatever some may write and 
talk to the contrary ; by pursuing a system of 
rigid economy ; by better encouraging, and more 
adequately remunerating, British labour in all its 
essential branches ; by supporting in their just 
rights and essential interests, every rank of soci- 



FIRST SESSION IN PARLIAMENT. 135 

ety, and above all, the labouring classes of the 
community, whose prosperity is the foundation of 
all others. These are the means, simple and 
obvious, though rejected by inveterate selfishness, 
and ridiculed by theoretic folly, which would, and 
in no long time, revive and perpetuate the pros- 
perity of the country. The detail of these pro- 
positions, I shall not now enter upon. When I 
retire from this most gratifying visit, it will be to 
that privacy where I purpose to pursue the sub- 
ject in which I have been long anxiously engaged 
— with what success remains to be tried — and 
which I trust, ere long, to submit to the British 
public. England wants nothing but the principles 
of common sense and common benevolence applied 
to the management of her a flairs, to restore her to 
present, and I may add, perpetual prosperity. 
Then (if in this hour of festivity I may be allowed 
to indulge in my imagination,) I can contemplate 
the genius of our country reposing on some lofty 
height, beneath the shade of his primeval oaks ; 
and, surrounded by the trophies of his triumphs, 
resting in peace after his heroic achievements, 
and casting his gratified gaze on the wide-spread 
prospects before him ; eyeing the progress of cul- 
tivation, the triumphs of the ploughshare and the 
pruninghook, in a country overflowing with plenty, 
and echoing the cheerful voice of contented labour. 



136 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

Then would he see our populous cities and crowd- 
ed marts swarming with a busy population ; while 
along the circling shores of the country, and in 
every port, those that go down to the sea in ships, 
and occupy business in the mighty waters, would 
resume their heroic calling ; then not a wave could 
break on our cliffs, but would bear some accession 
to our national wealth ; not a wind from whatever 
quarter of the globe could blow, but would waft 
some tribute to our shores. Then, in a long and 
unbroken reign of peace, should knowledge still 
extend its humanizing sway, genius renew its tri- 
umphs, and religion elevate the character of the 
country. Then should our national prosperity 
" stretch out even to the crack of doom," and the 
march of British greatness and glory extend to 
the utmost verge of time, and terminate only on 
the threshold of eternity." 

From Newark, Mr. Sadler proceeded to join his 
family in Yorkshire; — and shortly after repaired 
with them to Redcar, a retired sea-bathing place 
in that country, for the usual purposes of health 
and relaxation. It was during this sojourn at Red- 
car, that he was waited upon one morning, by a de- 
putation from the town and port of Whitby, bring- 
ing with them a request, signed by nearly all 
the wealth and respectability of that important 



FIRST SESSION IN PARLIAMENT. 137 

town, that he would accept the honor of a Public 
Dinner, in testimony of their appreciation of*' his 
high character and splendid talent," and especi- 
ally of their concurrence in his views, touching the 
commercial system of Great Britain, To such an 
invitation, the circumstances of his own leisure 
and vicinity being all in favor of the applicants, 
it was obviously impossible for him to return a 
refusal. The dinner accordingly took place on the 
15th of September, and was attended, as the 
journals of the day informs us, "by every indivi- 
dual of note in Whitby, with about three excep- 
tions." The peculiarity of the case was well ad- 
verted to by Mr. S. at the opening of his speech. 
\ " The last time, indeed, I was in public, I was 
sharing a similar favour from my generous and 
highly-valued constituents, who, since I have had 
the honour of being their representative, have 
loaded me with great and increasing obligations : 
but here, where no such connexion could have 
suggested the present compliment ; where, till on 
this occasion I was entirely unknown, and had not, 
personally, a single acquaintance ; I cannot but 
regard your present attentions, as one of the most 
unequivocal proofs ever tendered to any man, that 
his public conduct had met with general approba- 
tion. To be surrounded, as I am at the present 
moment, by a company of gentlemen of the high- 



138 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER* 

est respectability, whether it regards wealth, cha- 
racter, or information, — and more numerous than 
I could have supposed this place, respectable as it 
is, could have possibly mustered on any such 
occasion ; and above all, unanimous, as I am given 
to understand, in their approbation of the political 
principles of the humble individual who is now 
addressing you, is indeed a distinction, of which any 
man in this kingdom, whatever be his rank, what- 
ever his station, might feel justly and deeply proud." 
We must be permitted to reckon this speech 
among Mr. Sadler's happiest efforts. It was, 
indeed, nearly the first favourable opportunity he 
had ever enjoyed of appearing in his true charac- 
ter, — that of the real statesman. His late haran- 
gues in Parliament, popular as they had made 
him, could convey but a very faint and imperfect 
idea of the true bent and capacity of his mind. 
He was now, for the first time, and with sufficient 
scope, — being necessarily the oracle of the even- 
ing, — permitted to give a rapid sketch of that 
great subject which filled his mind and inspired 
all his efforts, — the improvement of the condition of 
the great mass of the people. His address, however, 
is so closely woven as to render it difficult to do it 
justice by the selection of fragments ; and yet 
there are several passages which offer strong 
temptation. We will borrow only two of these. 



FIRST SESSION IN PARLIAMENT. 139 

The state of most of the great interests of the 
country at that moment, 1829, was unquestionably 
one of considerable suffering, attended by a pro- 
portionate degree of gloom and dread of the future. 
Referring to this, Mr. S. observed : — 

"But now that the general distress can be no 
longer denied, still this darling theory is to be 
defended, by attributing our sufferings to other 
causes ; and it must be confessed that they give 
us abundance of choice. Sometimes it has been 
laid to the charge of stagnation, more frequently 
to over-production ; now the bankers are in fault, 
— now the traders ; our agriculturists have pro- 
duced too much ; or they have produced too little. 
We have had a surplus of capital, — we have had 
a want of it ; but now it seems that an indifferent 
harvest or two is the most convenient apology for 
our distresses ; which distresses, however, com- 
menced before the harvests were deficient; but 
had it been otherwise, variations in our seasons 
always have existed, and ever will recur, as cer- 
tainly, though perhaps not so regularly, as the 
cycles of the planetary system. And for these, 
as they must always be expected, a wise and 
paternal government will never be unprepared. 
In a word, the people of England, it has long 
appeared too plainly, cannot trade to the satis- 
faction of their rulers ; nor does Providence ap~ 



140 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

pear to please these rulers any better. Two 
facts, however, are certain; first, that the dis- 
tress is great : and, secondly, that its date is 
coincident with that of the operation of the new 
theory; witness the statistics of misfortune, of 
poverty, of crime, in the instant and vast in- 
crease of bankruptcies, the multiplication of cri- 
minal committals, the rise in the poor-rates, all 
taking their date from the identical period in 
question. Can events of so striking and tremen- 
dous a character exist without a cause, and one 
adequate to their production ? It were absurd 
to suppose it. One of the most important duties 
of the government is, therefore, to search it out, 
and, instead of withstanding those public in- 
quiries, for which the people have so long and 
so loudly called, to solicit, rather than reject, 
their evidence and information. 

" It appears to me, that we can best approach 
this inquiry by a series of negatives : — And first, 
it is not Providence that is chargeable with the 
miseries of the people ; — on the contrary, never 
was there a country so endowed with whatever 
could administer to its comforts, promote its 
prosperity, or secure its greatness. All the real 
elements of wealth are contained within our shores ; 
all the accidents which could favour their develope- 
ment are also ours. We have long enjoyed a pro- 



FIRST SESSION IN PARLIAMENT. 141 

found and uninterrupted peace. We have a coun- 
try, unrivalled in fertility, and ample in extent; 
only partially cultivated, and capable of sustaining, 
as future generations will prove, a vast accession 
of inhabitants in far greater plenty than our pre- 
sent population enjoys. Beneath us are minerals 
of the most valuable kind. Without, our terri- 
tories encircle the earth, accumulating on our 
shores the products of all regions, and opening 
a door of access to all countries. We have a 
climate unrivalled in salubrity, and a position 
among the nations the most fortunate ; surround- 
ed by the ocean, which is not only the very ele- 
ment of British safety and glory, but an inex- 
haustible mine of wealth. Such, without an 
hyperbole, is the condition in which Providence 
has placed us ; such the bounties the Deity has 
poured upon us. The sacred and figurative lan- 
guage of the East, which now occurs to me, 
might be applied to England, as emphatically 
as to an equally distinguished and unthankful 
country of old, — " He has placed our vineyard 
on a very fruitful hill, he has fenced it, and ga- 
thered out the stones thereof, and built a tower 
in the midst of it, and planted it with the choic- 
est vine." — And it may still be asked as it was 
of old, " What could be done more to his vine- 
yard than he has done in it ? " I fear I may con- 



142 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER, 

tinue the citation with equal truth, — *' He looked 
for judgment, but behold, oppression ; for righ- 
teousness, but behold, a cry ! " But I defy any 
man to answer the solemn question as it respects 
England, so as to lay in any measure the misery 
of this people at the door of eternal Providence. 

" Nor, secondly, is it the character or conduct 
of the inhabitants to which the present distress of 
the country is attributable. On the contrary, 
there is not a population upon earth more prone to 
labour, more active, enterprising, or intelligent 
in their exertions ; more persevering in their 
pursuits ; none who have so great an abundance 
of capital, that idol of the present system, by 
which, according to its doctrine, our national 
advantages can alone be developed or distributed. 
Whoever, therefore, or whatever has occasioned 
the existing distress, the people are guiltless. 

'" Nor is it the number of our countrymen which 
has produced it. Fashionable as is this diabo- 
lical doctrine, for diabolical it is, inasmuch as 
it begins by affronting God, and issues in injur- 
ing man ; it is, like many other fashionable no- 
tions, utterly false. It is the prerogative of God, 
saving the presence of our political economists, 
to decide this question ; and he has decided it, 
in the superabundance of the means of human 
subsistence, which, as a nation, he has lavished 



FIRST SESSION IN PARLIAMENT. 143 

upon us, placed within our reach, and solicited 
us to accept. Whether in reference to the re- 
sources of the country, or its means of profitable 
employment, if properly developed, there is not 
a sinew or an arm too many in the empire, no, 
nor elsewhere ; any more than there is a super- 
fluous spirit called into the realms of immortality 
by the Eternal God ! Short indeed, and infer- 
nal, would be the remedy, were this revolting 
notion true. Deportation of every kind, murder 
in all its forms, indirect or otherwise, would be 
obvious and general benefits. Still, however, the 
promulgators of this notion, with the habitual 
selfishness of the system, pronouncing upon the 
redundancy of human beings, invariably except 
themselves. The Christian advocates of this doc- 
trine are not its personal converts ; — whether as 
it respects life, or its propensities and feelings, 
they make no personal sacrifices ! They are no 
Curtiuses ! — but I see your indignation at the very 
mention of these notions : and, rather than on 
the dogmas of the political economists, we will 
still rest, as to this matter, upon the assurances 
of Him who " giveth food to all flesh ; for his 
mercy endureth for ever." 

" In whatever point of view, therefore, we regard 
this great nation, we may assert, that its natural 
state is one of prosperity and happiness. Such 



144 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

is the condition which it ought to enjoy. And 
the minister to whom, in effect, the country com- 
mits the charge of seeing that the public " re- 
ceive no injury," ought to render a reason for its 
condition if it be otherwise." 

He then proceeds to a close examination of the 
real causes of the prevailing distress, into which 
our limits forbid us to follow him. At the close, 
he brings the subject to a graceful and natural 
close, by an allusion to the state of their own town. 
Condoling with those who surrounded him on 
their darkened prospects, he carried their views 
beyond their own circle, and forwards to brighter 
days, in the following animated exordium. 

" But in making these observations, I do not 
sympathise with you so deeply, Gentlemen, as 
with those who would have been better employed, 
and more amply paid by you, had the former sys- 
tem been allowed to remain. The ship-builders 
and merchants of Whitby have lived in other and 
better times, and are, I understand, as a body 
wealthy in an unusual degree, and can therefore 
sustain these reverses, or leave the business, 
though at great sacrifices, which subjects them to 
such loss. But the workmen, — what is to become 
of them ? And here I will make my last allusion 
to the new principle; it is at the lower and indus- 
trious classes that it principally takes its aim, — in 



FIRST SESSION IN PARLIAMENT. 145 

which the legislature has long been too much its 
abettor. Paley says expressly, that " the care of 
the poor ought to be the principal object of all 
laws ; for this plain reason, that the rich are able 
to take care of themselves ;" but were I to say 
that any of the late regulations have been dictated 
by these feelings, I should compliment the bene- 
volence of their projectors at the expense of their 
intelligence. I will compliment neither. The 
modern system, which has been insinuating itself 
amongst us by degrees, I hold to be an attack 
upon the privileges of labouring poverty through- 
out. In agriculture, this spirit dictates what Lord 
Bacon calls, the engrosment of great farms ; by 
which a hundred little cultivators must be thrown 
out of a decent occupation, and replaced by one ; 
if the theorists can make it out that a grain more 
of " surplus produce," to use their cant expression, 
can be so obtained. In manufactures, it would, 
as the Edinburgh Encyclopedia justly expresses 
it, "turn out of employment the entire population ; 
if the master manufacturer, by the employment of 
machinery, could save an additional five per cent." 
In commerce it exhorts you " to buy where you can 
buy cheapest ;" though you leave the multitude, 
who enable you to purchase at all, without employ- 
ment, raiment, and bread. In shipping, it allows 
the native mariner, whose life is a life of clanger, 

L 



146 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

and whose death is often one of glory, and who 
may be called upon at any moment to fight the 
battles of his country, to be ground down or sup- 
planted, as it may happen, by the slaves of some 
foreign despot, who perhaps victuals them upon 
black bread and oil. As to currency, its object 
is to secure capital, but curtail credit, which, in 
other terms, is but refusing to humble industry 
the aid of the principal implement by which its 
future wealth might be created, — clipping the 
wings by which poverty can alone hope to rise 
from the earth. Even in science, I am sorry to 
say, this " infection works." If, for instance, 
anatomy has to be promoted, — but I recal the 
idea; — here at length the poor are allowed the 
privilege of monopolizing the market. Subjects 
for the human shambles are to be supplied by the 
friendless poor exclusively ; — those legislators 
who have illumination enough to laugh at their 
prejudices, as they call them, nevertheless refuse 
their own carcasses to the carving-knives of the 
dissectors ! These, however, are not the most 
striking instances which might be adduced in 
proof that the spirit of modern legislation, — 
since we have deserted the humane, benevolent, 
aye, and politic principles of our Christian fore- 
fathers, — is hostile to the real interests of the 
working classes. Such are, and have long been, 



FIRST SESSION IN PARLIAMENT. 147 

my settled feelings and sentiments, and I utter 
them in no hostility, open or disguised, against 
the other and higher ranks of society, whom, on 
the contrary, I have always attempted to support, 
in my humble sphere, in their just rights and pri- 
vileges. It is to secure these, as well as to serve 
the lower orders, that I thus speak, and I shall 
act conformably. But the present legislative phi- 
losophy attempts to place the pyramid of national 
prosperity upon its apex instead of its base ; its 
anxieties are about the summit, when it should be 
attending to the foundation . My preceding ob- 
servations are not levelled at any set of men in 
power, personally considered ; — on the contrary, 
it has always been my wish to support the govern- 
ment of the country as far as I conscientiously 
could ; and the present ministry had more espe- 
cially my good wishes. I had differed from their 
new policy, indeed, ever since they introduced it, 
— the " thunder" of the opposite party, however 
the ownership is contended for, (the lightning 
attending which has scorched and withered all 
our vital interests) ; — but I imagined that they 
were supporting what I conceived to be of still 
more importance to the country even than its in- 
terests,— namely, its principles. I have found 
myself lamentably deceived. I cannot, therefore, 
as an Englishman, always make up my mind to 

l 2 



148 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

think and speak of men in power, — the dispensers 
of public favours and rewards, — as some do, who 
are ever ready to declare 

" Whate'er they do, 
" Seems wisest, virtuousest, discreetest, best." 

No ; I am not one of those chameleons who take 
their changeful hue from some object near which 
they are crawling ; I wish, as is likewise fabled 
of that reptile, that such could also live upon air ; 
— it would be far better for the public purse, and 
no worse for public principle. 

" I fully meant, on such an occasion, and before 
I had concluded, to have adverted to that line of 
policy which I humbly think ought to be adopted; 
and which, without any violent revulsions, much 
less untried plans, would still, and I think speed- 
ily, restore the nation to its wonted prosperity. I 
have, however, already exhausted your patience, 
and shall therefore conclude ; not that I shrink 
from the task, or shall refrain from submitting my 
ideas on this important subject on a proper occa- 
sion. In the mean time, do I despair concerning 
the country ? God forbid ! She will recover, and 
recover the sooner, because she is even now 
loathing the potions with which she has been 
lately drenched. She may be prostrated for the 
present ; but, like another Antaeus, she will rise, 



FIRST SESSION IN PARLIAMENT, 149 

with renewed strength, from every overthrow. 
She will yet prosper ; not, indeed, because of the 
councils of her rulers, but in spite of them. Yes ; 
this mighty nation, unrivalled for ages in military 
and naval glory, — foremost in the pursuits of sci- 
ence, — warmest in every work of philanthropy, — 
brightest in the paths of genius ; — the nurse of 
liberty, — the asylum of religion,— the mother of 
mighty nations, who shall spread her language, 
perpetuate her institutions, and submit to her 
moral empire, when the dominion of her power 
shall have passed away ; — this country is destined 
yet, I hope and believe, to become, in the hands 
of a gracious Providence, the benefactress of the 
universe. She will yet vindicate her own princi- 
ples, and assert her own cause. She may, like 
many a gallant bark that has taken refuge in your 
friendly port, be now at sea, in danger and dis- 
tress, the sport of adverse winds, and tossed on 
the dark and tempestuous waves ; but, if I may 
apply the fiction of Virgil to a nobler purpose, the 
Deity shall himself appear, and, smiting the un- 
faithful Palinurus, shall seize the helm, and pilot 
the vessel through the subsiding storm, into the 
haven of prosperity and peace." 



CHAPTER VIL 



THE VACATION OF 1829 — MR. SADLER'S WORK ON 
POPULATION. 

Our last chapter left Mr. Sadler at Redcar, 
where, however, his time was not devoted to re- 
laxation or the pursuit of health, as his friends 
had anxiously hoped would have been the case ; 
but to the completion of that great work by which, 
above all other claims to veneration, his memory 
will in future ages be distinguished. He had un- 
hesitatingly and fearlessly declared war with the 
i( economists," but none knew better than himself, 
that to maintain the ground he had taken, it was 
necessary to destroy, utterly and for ever, the cen- 
tral post and main reliance of the opposing party, — 
the Malthusian theory. To this task, therefore, 
he instantly and ardently devoted himself. 

We have said that the position he had taken up 
rendered this necessary. That position is well de- 
scribed in the periodical work from which we have 
already quoted. The writer says :— 



HIS WORK ON POPULATION. 151 

" The Economists for the first time heard their 
infallibility called in question, and felt their ascen- 
dancy in danger. They, who had so long domi- 
neered by the force of barren theories, over the 
understanding and the feelings of the House, and 
whose general principles were admitted as indis- 
putable, even by those who yet felt them to be 
ruinous to trade and agriculture, and who exclaim- 
ed against the cruelty and the impolicy of their 
application ; these sages of the Satanic school in 
politics, encountered an adversary by whom their 
favourite measures were opposed, and their most 
familiar axioms disputed ; and that, not by scho- 
lastic sophistry, or unfounded assertion, or empty 
vehemence, or school-boy declamation, but by a 
reference to facts and to history, by a diligent and 
philosophical observation of human society, and 
the physical laws by which it has been governed 
in every age and country in the world. 

" Sadler has done this. Be he right or wrong — 
and it would be premature to pronounce finally 
upon the merits of a system which is not as yet 
fully developed — he is the man whose warning 
voice called the attention of the honourable House 
of which he bids fair to be so distinguished a 
member, to the first principles of the Economists ; 
who bid them turn their eyes from the capitalist 
to the labourer ; and who had the spirit and the 



152 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

feeling to ask them, and that with the voice of one 
having authority, whether that could -be a good 
system, or entitled to an exclusive preference, 
under the influence of which, capital must increase 
at the expense of humanity ; where what is called 
wealth only serves to oppress and to paralyse in- 
dustry ; and national prosperity is made to take 
the resemblance " of Moloch, horrid god, be- 
smeared with gore/' and to proceed upon its course 
amidst the sweat, and the blood, and the groans of 
its victims."* 

Now in thus declaring open war with so powerful 
and so insolent a party, Mr. Sadler had not acted 
with rashness or inconsideration. He felt assured 
of the truth and importance of his own convic- 
tions ; but at the same time his deep and thought- 
ful search into the subject, had long previously 
satisfied him, that until the theory of Malthus was 
fully and completely destroyed, the Economists 
could never be finally driven from the field. 

His investigation of this subject commenced 
about the year 1825, when engaged in the prepa- 
ration of his Lectures on the Poor Laws, of which 
we have already spoken. In treating, in those 
lectures, of the rights of the poor, he found no 
difficulty in establishing the Divine right of the 

* Blackvwod's Magazine; Vol. XXVI, p. 235. 



HIS WORK ON POPULATION. 153 

indigent to relief, as set forth in holy writ ; — nor 
yet in shewing their prescriptive or conventional 
right, by the general consent of mankind in all 
ages : But when he came to prove the same right 
on moral principles, he was instantly met by the 
still unrefuted dogmata of Malthus ;— That the 
human race, as now constituted, shewed a con- 
stant tendency to increase beyond any possible in- 
crease of food ; that, on this account, the check of 
moral restraint, arising from the fear of want and 
starvation, was ever required to be kept in their 
view; — and that, as a necessary consequence, in 
endeavouring to destroy this wholesome apprehen- 
sion of want and starvation, by actually providing 
against their occurrence, men were merely waging 
an insane and mischievous war with the immu- 
table laws of the universe, and striving to counter- 
act the fundamental principles of human existence. 
Thus he came, by continual reflection on this 
subject, thoroughly to appreciate the difficulties of 
the question, and its bearing upon the whole state 
and prospects of the human race. And the same 
patient study also tended to increase his impres- 
sion, that as " Scripture could not be broken," 
and as its decisions on this question were beyond 
all doubt, — so there must inevitably exist some 
latent error in a theory which was irreconcileable 
with those decisions ; — an error too, which in all 



154< LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

probability led to that apparent discrepancy which 
seemed to perplex the whole question. 

With his mind in this state of doubt, Mr. Sad- 
ler began, with that honesty and resolution which 
were always conspicuous in his character, to enter 
upon a course of enquiry as to the facts of the 
case, which, for extent and perseverance, has pro- 
bably never been equalled. 

Commencing, first, with the well-stored pub- 
lic library at Leeds, he afterwards proceeded, at 
various periods, through most of the other great 
public collections, especially that in the British 
Museum ; ransacking their catalogues for every 
imaginable source of information which they might 
contain, as to the state and progress of population 
in every quarter of the world. He thus accumu- 
lated four very large volumes of extracts on the 
subject ; comprehending, beyond all doubt, a far 
more extensive view of the case than any other 
individual had taken the trouble to obtain. 

It was in examining the calculations of perhaps 
the most eminent statistical writer of our time, — 
Susmilch, whose work he had taken the trouble 
to obtain from Germany, — that Mr. Sadler first 
perceived cause to suspect Mr. Malthus of a de- 
ficiency in that particular quality, — accuracy, — 
which, in a writer on such subjects, is beyond all 
others indispensable. He found Mr. M. transfer- 



HIS AVORK ON POPULATION. 



155 



ring a table of Susmilch, which stands in the 
German thus 



lahre. 


Getraute 
Paare. 


Getaufte. ' Gestorbene. 


1709 
1710 

1711 


5477 
( 12,028 


23,977 

... 

(.32,522 


59,196 ) p 
188,537 S 

247,733 

10,131 


& 3 % 


] 7,505 


56,499 


„ „ 



into his work after the following fashion 



Annual average. 


Marriages. 


Births. 


Deaths. 


Aver, of 5 years to 1 697 

5 years to 1 702 

6 years to 1708 


5747 
6070 
6082 


19,715 
24,112 
26,896 


14,862 
14,474 
16,430 


In 1709 and 1710 


a plague 


number de- 
stroyed in 
two years 


247,733 


In 1711 


12,028 


32,522 


10,131 



and then arguing most unhesitatingly, through 
half a dozen pages afterwards, upon this supposed 
fact, that " the number of marriages in the year 
1711 was very nearly double the average of the 
six years preceding the plague." The said " dou- 
bling" having been entirely his own creation, by 



156 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

throwing all those marriages and births into 1711 
alone, which Susmilch gives as belonging to 

1710") 

1711 J 
The discovery of this extraordinary and inex- 
cusable mis-statement naturally awakened Mr. 
Sadler's suspicions ; and on testing the other 
assumed " facts " on which Mr. Mai thus had 
rested his system, he found them, one after 
another, crumbling away at the least touch, and 
discovering themselves to be generally nothing 
more than bold guesses, or unaccountable blun- 
ders. Even those leading " facts" which Mr. M. 
had assumed, as needing no proof, — such as, the 
tendency of early marriages to over- stock the 
population ; and the propriety of the postpone- 
ment of marriage in order thereby to check the 
dreaded increase, — turned out, on examination, to 
be nothing more than groundless suppositions. 
Actual scrutiny shewed that both by an accele- 
rated rate of production, in the case of postponed 
marriages, and also by the smaller proportion of 
mortality among such children, the laws of nature 
easily counteracted and rendered nugatory, all 
ideas of a reduced amount of human increase, as 
resulting from such delayed unions.* 

* Sadler on Population, book iii. ch, xvii. 



HIS WORK ON POPULATION. 157 

In one entire class of females, whose registers 
were accessible, it appeared that the permanent 
increase resulting from their marriage was far 
greater in the cases of those who married between 
24 and 27, than in those who married between 16 
and 19.* 

But, worse than this, — all the arithmetical cal- 
culations, and alleged statistical facts, with which 
Mr. Malthus's first chapter opens, and upon which 
his system is built, appeared, on a closer scrutiny, 
to be nothing more than a series of errors and ab- 
surdities. For instance, Mr. Malthus boldly as- 
serts, that " Population has been found to double 
itself in fifteen years. Even this extraordinary 
rate of increase is probably short of the utmost 
power of population. — According to a table of 
Euler, calculated on a mortality of 1 in 36, if the 
births be to the deaths as 3 to 1, the period of 
doubling will be only 12| years. And these pro- 
portions are not only possible suppositions, but 
have actually occurred for short periods in more 
countries than one" f 

Here was an important fact broadly stated, but 
neither was the table itself produced, nor the 
countries in which population had so marvellously 
increased, even so much as named! Mr. Sadler, 

* Sadler, vol. ii. p. 281. f Malthus, (ed. 1826) vol. i, p. 6. 



158 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

therefore, had no other course than to sit down 
and construct a table for himself, shewing by 
what process this prodigious increase might occur. 
Such a table he therefore formed, and it will be 
found at p. 11 of his second volume. By it a du- 
plication every 12| years is produced, but only by 
the following mean : 1 . All the marriageable per- 
sons in the supposed population must actually 
marry at the age of 20. 2. All these married 
persons must have ten children for each such 
union. 3. All these ten children must live, in 
every case, to marry themselves, at the age of 20, 
and produce, in their turns, ten children for each 
union. 4. And, lastly, in this wonderful popula- 
tion, there must be no deaths ! Thus, and thus 
only, might the supposed duplication in 12i years 
be attained and kept up ! 

Of course, as such a state of things was altoge- 
ther impossible, as the earth is at present consti- 
tuted, it followed that that increase which Mr. 
Malthus asserted to have " actually occurred in 
more countries than one," must be absolutely im- 
possible also. 

From this fiction of a doubling in 12| years, 
Mr. S. proceeded to a more moderated statements 
of duplications in 15 and in 20 years, all which he 
proved by the same process to be alike, though 
perhaps not to the same degree, impossible. 



HIS WORK ON POPULATION. 159 

Another of these vague generalities, resting 
upon nothing, concerned the alleged actual increase 
in the United States of America. Of this* Mr. 
Malthus had said, that " In the Northern States 
of America, where the means of subsistence have 
been more ample, the manner of the people more 
pure, and the cheeks to early marriages fewer 
than many of the modern states of Europe, the 
population has been found to double itself, for 
above a century and a half successively, in less 
than twenty-five years." * 

To which Mr. Sadler replied by one or two facts, 
which at once demolished this statement. In 
1760, these very states, (New England,) contained 
500,000 inhabitants. By this alleged process of 
duplication, say in 25 years, they would amount in 
1835, to 4,000,000. Whereas, the census of 1820 
shewed their numbers, in that year, to be only 
1,638,435, and their decennial increase, between 
1810 and 1820, to be only 186,368 ! 

Rhode Island was particularly named by Mr. 
Malthus as shewing a period of doubling of less 
than 22 years. Mr. Sadler shewed, that having 
in 1730, a population of 17,935, a doubling every 
20 years would have carried its numbers, in 1830, 
to 573,920. Whereas in 1820, its whole popula- 
tion was only 83,038 ! 

* Malthus. Vol. I. p. 5. (ed. 1826.) 



160 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

China had been dealt with by Mr. Malthas 
after a similar fashion. The fables of the Jesuit 
Missionaries of avcentury back had been eagerly 
resorted to for statements confirmatory of the 
favorite theory, and the corrections supplied by 
later travellers had been wholly disregarded. 
Thus China was still represented as containing 
333 millions of inhabitants, although Malte-Brun, 
Grosier, Ellis, Timkowswki, Dr. Morrison, Thorns, 
the Encyclopedia Britannica, the Bulletin Uni- 
versel, and the Asiatic Journal, all drawing from 
the best modern information, united in the conclu- 
sion, that about 150 millions is the real number. 
In the same manner the " Edifying and Curious 
Letters," were resorted to for a representation that 
the Chinese live in " extreme misery,'' that l( mil- 
lions of people perish with hunger," and that 
infanticide is the common practice of the poorer 
classes. Whereas all modern travellers had given 
a totally different view of the case. Ellis says, 
" I have been much struck with the number of 
persons apparently in the middle classes, from 
which I am inclined to infer a wide diffusion of 
the substantial comforts of life : " — Von Braam 
that " it was easy to perceive that the inhabitants 
are strangers to poverty," — and that "everything 
wore the appearance of plenty and happiness : " 
Barrow, that " the countenances of the peasants 



HIS WORK ON POPULATION. 161 

were cheerful and their appearance indicative of 
plenty:" and Sir George Staunton, that "the 
cottages are clean and comfortable." While of 
the alleged infanticide, De Guignes declares, that 
" in his route through the whole extent of China," 
he never met with an instance of it ; and Mr. 
Ellis, giving the same testimony, adds, that 
" supposing any of the statements respecting it 
to have been well-founded, it will scarcely be 
believed that in passing over its populous rivers, 
through upwards of sixteen hundred miles of 
country, we should find no proof of its mere exist- 
ence. " # 

We must not, however, dwell longer on this 
part of the question. It may suffice to observe 
that, one by one, every material statement in 
Mr. Malthus's work was sifted and tried ; and 
the result of the whole investigation, to every 
candid and impartial reader, was, that the entire 
basis of facts upon which the author of the " Es- 
say on the Principle of Population," professes to 
rest his system, was utterly and for ever demo- 
lished and rooted up. 

But having thus abundantly satisfied himself 
of the fallacy of Mr. Malthus's statements, it be- 
came Mr. Sadler's great object, to discover, and 

* For larger extracts, see Mr. Sadler's Work ; — vol. I. book II. 
chap, xvi, xvii, xviii. 



162 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

to exhibit, the real Law of Human Increase. 
Knowing well that nothing in the universe hap- 
pened by chance, but that even every comet flew, 
as well as every leaf fell, in obedience to the dic- 
tates of an immutable law, it became his anxious 
desire to ascertain, if possible, the real nature of 
that hidden decree, by which the ebbing and 
flowing of the tide of human population was go- 
verned. The far-famed dogmas of Mai thus, the 
" arithmetical and geometrical ratios," he had 
already seen to be baseless fictions ; or rather 
mere phrases without meaning. But he was now 
earnestly engaged, amidst a myriad of recorded 
facts, in the endeavour so to classify and connect 
those facts, as to learn from them that secret 
law which produced and regulated them all. 

The truth flashed upon him one morning, as it 
were instantaneously. While examining the cen- 
sus of England, the simple fact presented itself 
to his notice, — that the proportion of births and 
marriages varied greatly, — the births being more 
or less numerous in proportion as the population 
of the district was more or less scanty. Exclaim- 
ing with Archimedes, "I have found it! I have 
found it ! " — he instantly set to work to form a 
table of the counties of England, which appears 
at page 394 of his second volume ; and the re- 
sults of which are as follows : — 



HIS WORK ON POPULATION. 163 



Marriages Births Proportion 

from 1810 from 1810 ofbirthsto 

Counties having less than 100 in- to 1820. to 1820. 100 man-. 

habitants to the square mile. 
Westmoreland, York, N. R. . 15,807 66,434 420 

Counties having from 100 to 150 
on the mile. 
Lincoln, Cumberland, North- 
umberland, Hereford, Rutland, 
Huntingdon, Cambridge, Mon- 
mouth, Dorset 79,476 315,205 396 

Counties having from 150 to 200 
on the mile. 
York, E. R., Salop, Sussex, 
Northampton, Wilts, Norfolk, 
Devon, Southampton, Berks, 
Suffolk, Bedford, Bucks, Ox- 
ford, Essex, Cornwall, Durham . 264,516 1,033,039 390 

Counties having from 200 to 250 
on the mile. 
Derby, Somerset, Leicester, 
Nottingham 66,244 257,136 388 

Counties having from 250 to 300 
on the mile. 
Herts, Worcester, Chester, 
Gloucester, Kent 103,255 390,322 378 

Counties having from 300 to 350 
on the mile. 
Stafford, Warwick, York, W. 
Riding 111,941 395,070 353 

Counties having from 500 to 600 
on the mile. 
Surry, Lancaster 112,768 373,142 331 

Middlesex 109,475 269,765 246 

Now these results, fairly deduced — not arbitra- 
rily or by selection, but by a just and natural 

m 2 



164- LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

arrangement of all the known facts of the case— 
seemed at once to bring to light, the thing of which 
Mr. Sadler had long been in search ; namely, 
the true law of Human Increase ; — a law agreeing 
equally with the ascertained state of things on the 
one hand, and with the chief law of the creation, 
beneficence, on the other. But it was not his 
wont, either to raise a system upon a single fact, 
or to quit an investigation while still on the 
threshold of the subject. He therefore made this 
discovery, however important in itself, merely the 
first step in a series, which ended not while a 
single country within the limits of civilization re- 
mained unexamined, or a fact which could in 
any way be brought to bear upon the inquiry, was 
left without its place in the chain of evidence and 
argumentation. 

Animated by the confident hope of achieving 
that for which he had long panted, his ardour in 
the pursuit and arrangement of authentic informa- 
tion on this great subject, seemed daily to increase. 
His incessant application at this period sensibly 
affected his health ; and was unquestionably one 
main cause,— his labours in the Factory Question 
in 1832 being the other, — of that fatal inroad on 
his constitution which ultimately led to his pre- 
mature decease. 

From the census of England, which had in the 



HIS WORK ON POPULATION. 165 

first instance discovered to him the true principle, 
and which seemed to possess in itself abundant 
data for the establishment of that principle, — 
Mr. Sadler proceeded through the statistics of 
France, of Prussia, of the Netherlands, of Ireland, 
of America, of Russia, of Sweden, of New South 
Wales, and of the Cape of Good Hope. Besides 
these main branches of the enquiry, a variety of 
collateral proofs were called in, from time to time, 
from circumstances which lay beyond or below 
the range of the larger view. Such as, the facts 
relative to the Peerage of England, — the Towns 
of England, the Islands in the British Seas ; and 
a variety of other subsidiary topics, which were 
attendant upon, rather than part of, the main in- 
quiry. In fact, it was impossible for a statistical 
view of the progress of population in any country 
or in any period, to fall in Mr. Sadler's way, 
without being instantly seized upon and forced 
to contribute its quota of evidence in this great 
investigation. Even in the course of a few months 
after the publication of his work, he had gained a 
knowledge of as many as five new censuses,— of 
Prussia, Naples, Russia, Denmark, and Lombar- 
dy ; all of which he instantly digested, and gave 
the results in his Letter to the Edinburgh Review- 
er, which was published in the following spring. 
No opportunity was ever lost by him, of augment- 



166 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

ing his store of facts on this question ; nor would 
his innate rectitude and sense of honor have per- 
mitted him to conceal any circumstance which 
these new sources of information might have dis- 
closed of a nature contradictory to his own views ; 
— but to this test his candor was never brought. 
Not a single case ever occurred, in which the facts 
disclosed were of a different tenor to the general 
mass. So perfect a coincidence and agreement 
can in no way be accounted for, save as the result 
of a law alike universal and immutable. 

We have hesitated whether to insert these 
various details, as needful to the full establish- 
ment of the principle ; or to omit them, as en- 
cumbering our narrative with a mass of dry statis- 
tics. On the whole, it seemed most advisable to 
postpone them to the close of the volume, where 
the reader who wishes to do full justice to the 
subject will find as condensed an abstract as it is 
in our power to give.^ 

Some, however, who may cast a hasty glance 
over these pages, will probably be inclined to ask, 
Wherein lies the vast importance of this contro- 
versy ; and in what does that practical difference 
between the two systems consist, which is as- 
sumed to be so momentous ? 

* See Appendix B, 



HIS WORK ON POPULATION. 167 

To this demand we must now endeavor to re- 
ply ; remarking, however, that among those who, 
like Mr. Sadler himself, have devoted much 
time and consideration to the question, how the 
condition of the poorer classes may be perma- 
nently ameliorated, — this demand will not often 
be made. Such persons will be well aware from 
their own experience, that the Malthusian theory, 
whenever admitted, has constantly operated to 
suggest doubts, and to raise difficulties, and, in 
effect, to check all the natural outgoings of bene- 
volence and kindness towards the poor.* 

The two systems are opposed to each other, in 
the most direct and positive manner. The one 
may be called the Paternal ; the other, the Sel- 
fish. The first is expansive, genial, beneficent, 
rejoicing ;■ — the second, contractive, withering, 
harsh, and full of a miser's fears. 

The Paternal System, having, as we shall see, 
truth for its basis, cannot be better described than 
in the words of that book which is the only re- 



* "lam aware/' said Lord Althorp, in bringing forward his 
measure for the amendment of the Poor Laws, in the House of 
Commons, "lam aware that in admitting the expediency of a 
poor law of any hind, I am expressing an opinion contrary to the 
strict principles of political economy ; — but upon these principles 
you may not only object to a poor law, but 'may even go further, 
and object to private charity itself!" 



168 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

cord of unmingled truth and of perfect wisdom 
that we possess. The whole tenor of that record, 
is in favor of the Paternal system, and not a word 
of "surplus population," or of the imaginary hor- 
rors of a state in which the people shall have out- 
grown all possible supplies of food, can be found 
throughout its pages. It begins with a Divine 
command to the second father of the human race, 
(i Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth." 
(Gen. ix. 2.) And in every successive instance in 
which a blessing is conferred, increase seems to 
be the most prominent feature of the benediction. 
" God shall enlarge (or increase) Japheth," (Gen. 
ix. 27.) To Abraham it is said, " I will make thee 
exceeding fruitful," (Gen. xvii. 6.) Of Ishmael, "I 
have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will 
multiply him exceedingly ," (Gen. xvii. 20.) Again 
to Abraham, " I will multiply thy seed as the stars 
of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea- 
shore" (Gen. xxii. 17.) To Jacob, " I will make 
thee fruitful, and will multiply thee, and will make 
thee a multitude of people" (Gen. xlviii. 4.) 

The Israelites are exhorted to obedience } " that 
ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the 
land" (Deut. viii. 1.) Again, it is said, " As the 
host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand 
of the sea measured, so will I multiply the seed of 
Davia ] my servant" (Jerem. xxxiii. 22.) But we 



HIS WORK ON POPULATION. 169 

must not attempt to adduce the half of the passages 
of this tenor which are found in Holy Writ. Suf- 
fice it to observe, that increase, a vast and countless 
increase, is always spoken of as the peculiar bless- 
ing of God, and a contrary state of scantiness or 
fewness of numbers, as the effect of his male- 
diction. 

Such is the constant language of that book, 
which is the only certain and infallible guide, 
that mankind has ever possessed. 

Wholly opposed to this view, is the Malthusian 
theory. With the most downright selfishness for 
its ruling principle, its constant language is that 
of misery, alarm, and unreasoning terror. 

" A man born into a world already possessed '," * 
says Mr. Malthus, " if he cannot get subsistence 
from his parents" (who may not be living,) " and 
if society does not want his labour, has no claim of 
right to the smallest portion of food, and, in fact, 
has no business to be where he is. At Nature's 
mighty feast, there is no vacant cover for him. 
She tells him to be gone, and will quickly execute 

* He does not hesitate to assume, that the world is " already 
possessed," although not one tenth of its surface is yet brought 
under cultivation. Even in this "overpeopled" country, Britain, 
the territory still left uncultivated and unpossessed, exceeds thirty 
millions of acres, more than the half of which is capable of re- 
paying the cultivator. 



170 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

her own orders, if he do not work upon the com- 
passion of some of her guests. If these guests 
get up and make room for him, other intruders 
immediately appear, demanding the same favor. " # 

The remedy which Mr. M. very consistently 
proposes against these "intruders" is a very sim- 
ple one. 

" I propose a regulation to be made, that no 
child born from any marriage taking place after 
the expiration of a year from the date of the law, 
and no illegitimate child born two years from the 
same date, should ever be entitled to parish assis- 
tance." 

u This would operate as a fair, distinct, and 
precise notice." 

After this public notice had been given, the poor 
man marrying, is to be dealt with as one guilty of 
" an immoral act." 

" To the punishment of nature, he should be 
left, the punishment of severe ivant." " All parish 
assistance should be most rigidly denied to him ; 
and if the hand of private charity be stretched 
forth in his relief, the interests of humanity im- 
periously require that it should be administered 
very sparingly. He should be taught to know 
that the laws of nature, which are the laws of God, 

* Essay on Population, 4to. p. 531. 



HIS WORK ON POPULATION. 171 

had doomed him and his family to starve for dis- 
obeying their repeated admonitions."* 

Enough of such impiety, — nay, of such blas- 
phemy ! It is thus, as Adam Smith says, that "the 
fortunate and the proud wonder at the insolence 
of human wretchedness ; and that it should dare 
to present itself before them, and with the loath- 
some aspect of its misery, presume to disturb the 
serenity of their happiness ! " 

Yet were these unhuman, these atrocious sug- 
gestions, nothing more than the natural and neces- 
sary results of Mr. Malthus's theory ! If it were 
true, as he states it to be, — that population, if left 
unrestrained, will inevitably outgrow the means of 
subsistence, — and that the danger is always immi- 
nent, of the appearance of more mouths than food 
can be found to supply, — then, unquestionably 
some such frightful regulations as he proposes, 
would indeed become necessary. It would be 
useless to struggle against the laws of human ex- 
istence. The only question therefore is, what are 
the laws of human existence? 

And Mr. Malthus's criminality lay here, — that 
finding in the word of God, the only depository of 
perfect wisdom and perfect beneficence that we 
possess, a constant series of instructions of the 
most explicit and positive character, and bearing 

* Essay on Population, 4to, p, 539. 



172 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

directly against his whole theory, — his misconduct 
consisted in this, that in the face of all this infalli- 
ble instruction, instead of distrusting his own in- 
formation or his own conclusions, he boldly puts 
forth a system and a course of teaching, wholly 
opposed to the whole tenor of Scripture, and yet 
in itself resting upon the most preposterous blun- 
ders and the most groundless assumptions. Had 
his facts been as clearly established as the rotation 
of the earth, or the mortality of man, still a pro- 
per reverence for the word of the All-wise ought 
to have held his judgment suspended. Instead of 
which, with a flippancy which defies all just re- 
buke, and an heartlessness which none but an 
" economist" could exhibit, he thrusts upon the 
world his baseless theory, the inevitable results of 
which are, however concealed, that " the more ex- 
cellent the laws, and the more strictly they are 
obeyed, mankind must the sooner become misera- 
ble ! " * 

The grand distinctive and opposing principles 
of the two systems, then, were these ; on the part 
of Mr. Malthus's system, a fear of over-population, 
as a danger necessarily connected with the laws 
of human existence. On the part of Mr. Sadler's 
system, an entire absence of all such fear ; brought 

* Wallace on the Various Prospects of Mankind, iv. p. 111. 



HIS WORK ON POPULATION. 173 

about by ascertaining from actual observation, the 
operation of balancing and compensating principles 
in the growth of the human race. 

The natural and necessary result of the adoption 
of the one system, therefore, must obviously be 
an apprehension of falling into the error of too 
much benevolence, — of too much fostering the 
principle of human increase. The heart even of 
the kind and gentle, was taught by this system to 
school itself to self-denial, and to imagine that it 
was necessary that a considerable amount of misery 
and starvation should be allowed to exist, in order 
to prevent the poor from increasing too fast. To 
such an extent had this frightful impression been 
made upon Mr. Malthus himself, that we find in 
his work, — the work of a clergyman,— the follow- 
ing appalling sentiment. " A youth of eighteen 
would be as completely justified in indulging the 
sexual passion with every object capable of ex- 
citing it, as in following indiscriminately every 
impulse of his benevolence." # "An aphorism 
concerning which," remarks Mr. Sadler, " whe- 
ther in reference to the age referred to, when the 
exercise of charity is so lovely, and open de- 
bauchery so disgustingly infamous ; or as respects 
the consequences of these opposite courses at any 

* Essay on Population, 4to. p. 559* 



174 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

period of life, — as no language I have at command 
can sufficiently express my execration, I shall, 
therefore, not employ any!" 

On the other hand, the results of the adoption 
of the opposite theory are just as consonant and 
agreeable to the best impulses of nature and con- 
science, as the inferences drawn from the Malthu- 
sian, are, to our basest and worst. Learning from 
actual investigation, that increase of numbers is, 
in fact, what Scripture always represents it to be, 
an actual blessing ; — learning, also, that in place 
of any possibility of its proceeding too far, and 
outrunning the growth of food, it is, in all cases, 
the forerunner and efficient cause of abundance 
and comfort, and even luxury ; the disciple of the 
paternal system dismisses all the selfish appre- 
hensions of ultimate scarcity and want, and tunes 
his heart to the sweetest sympathies of our nature, 
and to a perfect harmony with those divine les- 
sons which, if only adopted by all mankind, would 
restore to earth something resembling the bliss of 
paradise itself. To every impulse of benevolence, 
to every appeal of humanity, his ear is open, and 
his soul awake ; — having first assured himself by 
the double testimony of Divine Truth, and esta- 
blished fact, that beneficence is not merely an 
allowable indulgence of personal feeling, but a 
wise, a prudent, aud a reasonable line of conduct. 



HIS WORK ON POPULATION. 175 

He reads the words of God: " Thou shalt not 
harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy 
poor brother ; but thou shalt open thine hand 
wide unto him." " Thou shalt surely give him, 
and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou 
givest unto him." " For the poor shall never 
cease out of the land ; therefore / command thee, 
saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto 
thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy 
land," (Deut. xv. 7, 1 1 .) — and he receives them 
with a willing mind. He is not perplexed, — as 
some good men who have been deceived by the 
fallacies of Mr. IWalthus must often have been, — 
by a supposed disagreement between the word 
and the works of God. On the contrary, the 
juster view of the latter, which the discoveries of 
Mr. Sadler have given him, delights, instead of 
distressing his heart, and he rejoices to observe, 
in this, as in all other cases, how Natural Theo- 
logy, when properly understood, casts a light 
even upon the more distinct instructions of the 
written word. 

There has been, however, another question 
asked, with reference to Mr. Sadler's system ; and 
one which demands a reply. It is inquired, Is 
there any thing really new in his theory? Did we 
not know, before he was born, that the open coun- 
try, and the thinly-peopled districts, were more 



176 LIFE OP MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

favourable to the growth of population, than 
crowded cities or manufacturing towns? And 
what, after all, does his vaunted discovery amount 
to, beyond this ? 

Our reply to this inquiry divides itself into two 
observations. What Mr. Sadler effected towards 
the settlement of this great question, was, first, 
immensely to enlarge our knowledge of the sub- 
ject, so as to bring the true principle, of which 
men had only, up to that period, been able to 
catch an occasional and imperfect glimpse, into 
full and open view. And secondly, to develope 
and apply that principle, so as to form what is 
rightly called a System ; by which the opposing 
and most mischievous theory of Malthus, might 
be utterly swept away, and a generous and bene- 
flcient course of legislation be substituted for the 
selfish machinations of the Economists. 

It is perfectly true that facts so notorious, as, 
that vices which warred against population, were 
more common in cities than in rural districts ; — 
and that a country life, with frugality and indus- 
try, was favourable to the increase of the num- 
ber of the people, — had not escaped the notice 
of former writers on this subject. But vague 
and general remarks of this kind left Mr. Mal- 
thus's principle unimpugned. He could well 
afford to admit their truth, and to reckon them 



HIS WORK ON POPULATION. 177 

only as the exceptions to the universal rule. 
While the fact was supposed to extend no further 
than this, it could neither suffice as the foundation 
of a system, nor as the means for the overthrow 
of the theory most in fashion. Mr. Sadler's re- 
searches, however, entirely changed the complex- 
ion of the case. The isolated and apparently 
immaterial fact which had been previously observ- 
ed, grew under his inquiries, into a series ; and 
this question was one, which, above all others, was 
ruled entirely by consecutive facts. 

To prove, or rather to assert, what required no 
proof, that population increased less rapidly in 
towns than in the open country, left the main 
question untouched. It was asserted by Mr. 
Malthus that in the ordinary course of nature 
population doubled itself every twenty or five-and- 
twenty years ; while the means of subsistence 
could only be augmented at a far slower rate. 
This was the fundamental principle in his theory. 
Still, that the vices, the unhealthiness, and the 
misery which always exists in great towns, ope- 
rated as a check to the dreaded growth of popula- 
tion, was also admitted and reckoned upon by 
him, as one of the established facts of the case. 

But the investigations of Mr. Sadler entirely 
changed the position of the question. The distin- 
guishing feature of his theory was, that it wholly 

N 



178 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

denied the doctrine of an uniform principle of in- 
crease ; and asserted, in opposition to it, the fact 
of a varying rate of increase ; such varying being 
generally in proportion to the greater or less popu- 
lousness of the district in which it occurred. 

The fact was established in a variety of ways. 
A few of the instances may be here adduced. 

1. In England, there were two counties having 
less than 100 inhabitants to every square mile. 
In these two counties there were 420 births to 
every 100 marriages. 

There were nine counties having more than 100, 
and less than 1 50, inhabitants to the mile. In these 
the births were only 396 to every 100 marriages. 

There were sixteen, with more than 150 and 
less than 200 on the square mile. In these the 
births were 390 to 100 marriages. 

All these were agricultural districts. The same 
principle of gradual diminution in proportion to 
increasing populousness, was shown to exist 
throughout all the rest of England; but as the 
great manufacturing towns would mingle with the 
remaining counties, we prefer to stop at the first 
three divisions. 

2. The islands in the British seas furnished a 
second and a very remarkable proof. The ten 
years from 1810 to 1820 shewed the following 
rate of increase. 



HIS WORK OX POPULATION. 179 





Inhab. 


Births to 




on a mile. 


100 marriages 


Isle of Wight 


213 


437 


Isle of Man 


250 


433 


Norman Isles 


494 


363 



Here was a perfectly plain and simple proof, 
wholly free from all disturbing elements, — of 
manufactures, unhealthiness, or peculiar vice 
or necessity. 

3. In examining the censuses of Ireland, Mr. 
Sadler tested his principle by a variation in the 
mode of proceeding. The parish registers not fur- 
nishing him, as in England, with the births, &c. 
he examined the proportion of children to adults, 
as supplied by the census, and the result was as 
follows : — ■ 

Twelve counties had less than 200 inhabitants 
to the square mile. In these, for every 10,000 
people between the ages of fifteen and forty, there 
were, of children under ten years of age, 7275. 

Fourteen counties had from 200 to 300 on the 
mile. In these, for every 10,000 between fifteen 
and forty there were, of children under ten, 7019. 

Three counties had from 300 to 400 on the mile. 
The 10,000 adults were here accompanied by 
children, 6885. 

Two counties had from 400 to 500, on the mile. 

N 2 



180 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

Here, to 10,000 adults, the children were only 
6738. 

Lastly, in the county of Dublin, the same class 
of children, for each 10,000 adults, were only 
5254. 

4. The census of America, constructed on a 
different principle, again forced Mr. Sadler into a 
different mode of investigation. He was here 
obliged to inquire, how many children under ten 
were found for each 100 females between sixteen 
and forty-five. The results were these : — 

In the States having only jive inhabitants on the 
square mile, — for each 100 females between 16 
and 45, there were, of children under 10 - 216 
In those having from 5 to 10 on the mile - 200 
In those having from 10 to 15 - - 196 

In those having from 15 to 20 - - 181 

In those having from 20 to 25 - 176 

In those having from 25 to 30 - - 163 

In those having from 30 to 40 - - 160 

In those having from 40 to 50 - - 144 

In those having from 50 to 60 - - 139 

In those having above 60 - - 135 

5. Another fact of some importance concerning 
the diminishing rate of increase in England, was 
perceptible in the lessened fruitfulness of mar- 
riages, now, as compared with their productive- 
ness when the kingdom had only half its present 



HIS WORK ON POPULATION. 181 

number of inhabitants. From various authentic 
sources, referred to in his work, Mr. Sadler formed 
the following table. 







Births to a 


Date. 


Population. 


marriage. 


1680 


5,500,000 


4-65 


1730 


5,800,000 


4-25 


1770 


7,500,000 


3-61 


1790 


8,700,000 


3-59 


1805 


10,678,500 


3-50 



We have selected these few, out of a multitude 
of proofs, as the most succinct and simple. But 
in the work itself a vast magazine may be found, 
entirely exhausting the subject, and proving, in 
every conceivable way, the fact, that the law of 
human increase operates in a varying ratio, having 
reference, always, to the density or thinness of the 
existing population ; and not in a fixed ratio, per- 
petually doubling and redoubling the existing 
race, and thus going on to excess and consequent 
misery. 

But Mr. Sadler did not rest content with the 
statistic proofs of the reality of the principle he 
asserted. He called next upon physiology to lend 
its aid in the establishment of this great truth. 
And of each department of proofs it may safely be 
averred, that either would of itself have been 
sufficient to support his theory. 

Mr. Malthus had propounded the doctrine that 



182 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER, 

the most efficient means of checking the growth 
of population, the overflow of which he represented 
as the greatest of evils, was, simple starvation. In 
considering the cause , why the same prodigious 
increase did not take place in England which he 
had assumed to be going on in America, he said, 
" The obvious reason to be assigned is, the want of 
food ; which want is the most efficient cause of the 
three great checks to population."* 

In opposition to this doctrine Mr. Sadler alleged 
that the only efficient checks to population were, 
ease and comfort, increasing to luxury. Thus, 
while the one would have counselled the states- 
man, with a view to keep down the dreaded in- 
crease of their numbers, to limit, and if possible 
withdraw, all elymosynary aid ; — the other would 
have replied, " If you really apprehend an over- 
flow of this kind, the best way to check it, is to 
improve the condition of the people. 

Mr. Sadler might very well appeal to notorious 
facts for the establishment of his principle ; but 
his indefatigable spirit led him to fortify himself 
with a host of medical and physiological authori- 
ties ; all asserting the fact, that poverty is favour- 
able, rather than unfavourable, to fruitfulness ; 
that the most laborious and the hardest-faring 
people are always the most prolific ; and that it is 

* Essay on Population, 4 to. p, 340, 



HIS WORK ON POPULATION. 183 

among those who begin to enjoy abundance and 
to live at ease, that barrenness first shews itself; 
increasing, as we advance upwards ; till among the 
higher classes it is found that continual extinctions 
take place, and that it is only by perpetual drafts 
from the lower ranks, that their numbers can be 
preserved. 

Thus Dr. Buchan remarks, that "a barren 
woman is seldom found among the labouring 
poor," and adds, " would the rich use the same sort 
of food and exercise as the better sort of peasants, 
they would seldom have cause to envy their poor 
vassals the blessings of a numerous offspring. " f In 
like manner Adam Smith contrasts the extra- 
ordinary fruitfulness of the half-starved Highland 
woman with the sterility of the fine lady ; and Dr. 
Short observes that "the poorest and most labo- 
rious part of mankind are ever the fruitfullest."f 
But Dr. Perceval had furnished one striking in- 
stance from his own observation. In the parish 
of Dunmow, in Essex, there were 262 poor 
families, who had 460 children. There were also 
116 families of the ranks above them, who had 
only 120 children ; being little more than half the 
former proportion. % There can be little doub 

* Domestic Medicine, p. 501. f Short's Observations, 144. 
t Perceval's Essays, v. xi. p. 379. 



184 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLEK. 

that similar inquiries would furnish similar results, 
if generally extended. 

Lastly, Mr. Sadler was also enabled to appeal 
to the voice of history ;— to the record of the uni- 
versal experience of the human race. 

In every part of the globe, man had been found 
at first, in a rude and savage, and almost in a soli- 
tary condition. The hunter of the woods roamed 
over boundless deserts, and amidst the undisturbed 
possession of whole provinces, fared hardly, and 
suffered all kinds of privation. 

But as his household grew and multiplied, in 
that very multiplication we soon discern the cause 
of increasing civilization, prosperity, and comfort. 
The rural and agricultural life begins. Flocks and 
herds appear ; the fruits of the earth are culti- 
vated and increase ; and quickly, instead of popu- 
lation outgrowing the means of subsistence, the 
means of subsistence are seen to outgrow popula- 
tion, and men become rich and luxurious. 

Then arises the splendid city, the crowded 
mart ; and commerce begins to facilitate the ex- 
change of productions and the growth of luxury. 
The savage had fed upon his roots, and the pro- 
duce of his bow : the early agriculturist had pro- 
vided bread, probably of a coarse description, and 
the flesh of the goat or wild sheep. But now " the 
finest of the wheat flour," " the fatted calf," " the 



HIS WORK ON POPULATION. 185 

juice of the grape," are in common use ; and where 
a few scattered hunters could hardly subsist, mil- 
lions of people enjoy a succession of comfort- 
able meals on each day that passes. And every 
where, be it especially remarked, the character 
and quantity of the people's food, raises with the 
increase of population. Roots for the savage ; 
black bread for the thinly-peopled country ; brown 
for the region possessing greater numbers ; but 
white for the crowded city. 

And what is the history of the decline of nations ? 
According to Mr. Malthus, we might have expect- 
ed to read of the mighty empires of old, as each 
falling a victim, by degrees, to increasing poverty ; 
to perpetually advancing misery ; and to the wild 
fury, at last, of a half-starved population, mad- 
dened by the want of food. But has such a cir- 
cumstance ever yet occurred? On the contrary, 
does not all history agree in a totally different 
story ? Has not each empire, in succession, fallen 
a victim, not to want, but to luxury ; not to an 
impossibility of obtaining food, but to the decay 
of industry, arising from wealth and enjoyment ; 
and to the decrease of population also, which 
quickly follows, as a necessary consequence, the 
growth of luxurious and vicious habits. 

In every possible point of view, then, Mr. Mal- 
thus's theorv stood convicted of fatal error, The 



186 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER* 

whole experience of the human race refuted it. 
The laws of human existence, the physiological 
principles by which the increase of the race was 
governed, with equal decision denied its possibi- 
lity. And statistic facts, the most conclusive, 
when sufficiently extended, of all proofs, united in 
declaring, that the notion of a geometric rule of 
increase, constantly operating, and only checked 
by vice or "want of food," was a baseless fiction, 
and entirely at variance with the actual history 
of mankind's increase. 

On the other hand, the same three branches of 
evidence all concurred in declaring the truth of the 
great principle first enunciated by Mr. Sadler, 
and of the system which he based upon it. His- 
tory assured us that instead of a regular duplica- 
tion of the human race at stated intervals, the rate 
of increase was always found to vary ; being rapid 
in young and thinly-peopled countries, slower in 
those which were already populous, and declining 
into a positively retrograde movement, after it had 
passed a certain point of prosperity. Nor would 
history admit for an instant Mr. Malthus's hypo- 
thesis, that the practical check to growth of popu- 
lation consisted in a " want of food," seeing that 
its progress was always the most rapid in poor and 
ill-provisioned countries, and slower in those which 
had become rich and full of luxuries. Physiology 



HIS WORK ON POPULATION. 187 

entirely concurred in this view ; assigning the most 
satisfactory reasons for the facts as they occurred ; 
and declaring that it must inevitably be found, 
that among the poor, the ill-fed, and the laborious, 
population would advance at a far more rapid rate 
than among those in easy or comfortable circum- 
stances : While Statistics adduced the clearest 
proofs that in all places, and at all periods, that law 
had existed, and did exist, which Mr. Sadler had 
been the first to bring to light ; a law which so 
varies the ratio of human increase, as to produce 
great advances wherever the thinness of the popu- 
lation admits and requires such rapidity of growth, 
and then gradually diminishes and checks the 
ratio, by the natural causes of ease and luxury, 
till it soon falls to that point at which all further 
advance necessarily ceases. 

And thus confirmed on every hand, the principle 
discovered by Mr. Sadler naturally grew into a 
system. That system we have already described 
as the Paternal one. Having wholly discarded the 
fear of " a superabundant population," the natural 
feelings of good-will and kindness were again 
allowed to flow forth. And more, they were encou- 
raged and confirmed by the investigation which had 
taken place. It had now been ascertained in the 
fullest manner, that not an abundance, but a paucity 
of inhabitants, was the real evil to be apprehended ; 



188 LIFE OP MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

and that the words of God were indeed the words 
of truth, that " In the multitude of people is the 
king's honour ; but in the want of people is the 
destruction of the prince." * 

Such was the theory of Human Increase of 
which Mr. Sadler was the first propounder. His 
work, the greatest effort of his life, and the greatest 
gift bestowed on mankind by any secular writer 
of modern times, appeared in the spring of 
the year 1830. 

Its reception, externally, was immeasurably be- 
neath its merits, but its success was complete. 
And it is very necessary, in this case, to discrimi- 
nate between the two. 

The book itself was overcharged with matter. 
More than thirteen hundred closely-printed pages, 
crowded with . an hundred-and-four statistical 
tables, presented a task from which the great 
majority of readers would naturally shrink back. 
Even those journals which might have been ex- 
pected to assist the progress of the work, declined 
to grapple with its prodigious mass of proofs. 
Blackwood's Magazine devoted an article to the 
praise of a detached appendix, and the Quarterly 
Review suggested doubts as to the theory; but 
neither of these works so much as attempted to 

* Proverbs xiv. 28. 



HIS WORK ON POPULATION. 189 

deal with the question, — whether or not the theory 
itself was established by proof? 

The Edinburgh Review, on the other hand, lent 
itself to a mean and base attempt to show the 
proof to have failed; — mean and base, because it 
consisted in garbling and falsification. Mr. Sadler 
had given a view of all the counties of England, 
showing how fully they exhibited the operation 
of the principle for which he contended. Mr. 
Sadler's table was a complete one, suppressing 
nothing, and contriving nothing. The Edinburgh 
Reviewer, professing to give this table, first cut 
off one end of it, and then the other, and then, 
giving the middle only, so contrived, by an arbi- 
trary distribution, as to get rid of the fact which 
stood in his way. Having thus, by mere mutila- 
tion, destroyed one of Mr. Sadler's hundred proofs, 
he coolly declared all the rest to be of like invali- 
dity, and so evaded the force of the whole body 
of evidence ! * 

Thus misrepresented on one hand, and faintly 
defended on the other, it was natural that the 
work, which from its ponderosity, required all the 
friendly aid that could be obtained, should make 
less rapid and visible progress, in taking possession 
of the public mind, than its predecessor. Never- 

* See Appendix (C.) 



190 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

theless its advance, though gradual, was not less 
certain. No one candid or unbiassed student have 
we ever been able to discover or hear of, who rose 
from its perusal without the most perfect convic- 
tion of its truth. Nor were testimonies to its value 
and importance wanting, even in the highest walks 
of literature and science. Mr. Sharon Turner, in 
his Sacred History of the World, thus alluded to it. 
"It is this undiminishing and undecaying pro- 
perty in plants which may rescue us from that 
chimerical dread of a superabundant population of 
the earth, under which we have been labouring 
for the last thirty years, until Mr. Sadler's tables, 
calculations, and reasonings, have at last rescued 
us from it. I allude to Mr. Sadler's ' Law of 
Population? which has thrown, at last, the steady 
and animating light of truth on a darkened and 
much-mistaken subject. A great mistake has been 
prevailing on this subject ; the true law of nature 
was misconceived ; partial effects were taken to 
be the general rule, and the real agency greatly 
overrated ; and thereby an imaginary law has been 
assumed, which has never operated as has been 
alleged. In nature, the law of population has 
never exceeded that of the productive power of 
vegetable life, and never will."* 

* Turner 's Sacred History . Vol. I. p. 113, 114. 



HIS WORK ON POPULATION. ^191 

From an immense mass of epistolary congratula- 
tions we shall only stop to quote two or three. 
Sir John Sinclair acknowledges " the very great 
satisfaction" with which he has perused the work, 
and adds, that "never before had the subject been 
so thoroughly and profoundly investigated." 

The venerable Dr. Storer of Nottingham, writes 
— " I cannot suppress the gratitude I owe, with 
the community in general, for one of the greatest 

benefits that could be conferred upon it." 

11 For, in a moral or political view, what can be a 
greater national benefit, than to fix the foundation 
of the whole system of political economy on its 
only sure and unerring basis ; a knowledge of that 
universal law, by which the increase of the human 
race is regulated, under all circumstances, and in 
every region of the habitable world." " I have 
really been upon my guard, and have read your 
work with all the jealousy of a disciple of the 
Malthusian school. My conclusion is, that the 
law of human increase which you have discovered 
and maintained, is a truth founded in nature. It 
may be assailed, but cannot be invalidated. All 
the facts already known, and applicable to the 
subject, coincide in demonstrating its truth. Fur- 
ther discussion will necessarily lead to a multi- 
tude of other facts bearing upon the question ; but 
such is its striking analogy to the other known 



192 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

laws of nature, and such its admirable provision 
for all the various conditions in which society may 
be placed, that I feel a firm conviction, that a 
further accumulation of facts will confirm the 
principle which seems to me to be already esta- 
blished — and established on a basis as immoveable 
as Newton's demonstration of the Copernican 
system." 

Dr. Storer adds, " I cannot forbear expressing 
my surprize at the extent and depth of research 
into which you have been led, in establishing this 
fundamental truth. If I did not know the con- 
trary, I could have fancied that your life had been 
passed in your library." 

Dr. Sou they writes as follows — " You have 
demonstrated that Malthus's theory is as absurd, 
as the consequences to which it necessarily leads 
are execrable. And the proofs by which you have 
supported your own deductions, are as conclusive 
as they are surprizing. Part of its work this will 
do now, and hereafter the truth will be universally 
acknowledged : but for the present race of political 
economists, (who are the pests, and bid fair to be 
the ruin of the country,) they will not be persuad- 
ed, though one rose from the dead ! " 

We must here add, what was overlooked in a 
former chapter, the testimony of the Bishop of 
LlandafF, Dr. Copleston, to Mr. Sadler's former 



HIS WORK ON POPULATION. 193 

work. His Lordship, after apologizing for address- 
ing Mr. S. says, "the great interest which your 
work on Ireland has excited in my mind, will not 
allow me to remain silent." "You have triumphant- 
ly exposed the sophistry of Macculloch about ab- 
senteeism ; and your view of the evils of Ireland, 
and their appropriate remedies, appears to me ad- 
mirable. Poor laws, and a tax on absenteeism, I 
have always thought the best, but I should have 
been quite unable to assign sufficient reasons, 
had I not read your book." 

The greatest triumph of Mr. Sadler's work, 
however, consisted, in this case, as in the former, 
much less in the plaudits of friends, or the struggles 
and contentions of foes, than in the gradual but im- 
mediate and perceptible crumbling away of the ri- 
val system. The Malthusian theory received its 
death-wound on the day when Mr, Sadler's work 
appeared ; its dying struggles were decently con- 
cealed by the mantle cast over them by its friends ; 
but the whole system has now passed away, and 
must be reckoned among the things that were. 
The silence which has been maintained, though it 
may have rendered the decease of the system an 
unobserved event in the minds of the multitude, 
cannot prevent us from comparing the ascendan- 
cy of Malthusianism in 1820— 1830, with its ut- 
ter oblivion in 1830 — 1840. We might apply to 

o 



194 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

it the expressive language of the Psalmist ; — " 7" 
sought .for it, but to, it could no where be found I " 

The sudden change which was wrought in the 
minds of the foremost defenders of the theory of 
Malthus was not quite imperceptible, though those 
parties naturally said as little as possible concern- 
ing their idol's fall. We find the Edinburgh Re- 
view, in March, 1824, speaking of the doctrines of 
Malthus as things established, and beyond doubt : 
" It has been supposed by many, that the compa- 
rative density of the population of different coun- 
tries afforded the best test of their condition ; and 
that those nations which had the greatest popu- 
lation must necessarily be the best governed, and 
the most prosperous and happy. But the examples 
of Ireland and the United States, and the princi- 
ples unfolded in Mr. Malthus's work on population, 
have shewn the fallacy of this criterion ; and have 
indeed at length effected a complete change in the 
public opinion on this subject." # A similar tone is 
preserved, even down to January 1830, when Mr. 
Malthus's book is styled an invaluable work." f 

In January, 1831, however, when Mr. Sadler's 
treatise had been published some months, and had 
had time to produce some results, a far different 
feeling is observable. Mr. Malthus's work is now 

* Edinburgh Review. Vol. XL. p. 1. f Ibid. Vol. L. p. 352. 



HIS WORK ON POPULATION. 195 

described as " incomplete," and " one-sided," and 
his famous ''geometrical and arithmetical ratios,' 5 
the very pillars of his system, are said to constitute 
" a fruitful source of controversy and miscon- 
ception." * 

In the same article praise is given to Mr. 
M'Culloch's " chapter on population," "modified 
as it now is" And very considerably " modified " 
had that chapter been ! Mr. M'Culloch, in his 
first edition, had shewn himself a thorough-going 
Malthusian. But in his second edition, which the 
Edinburgh Reviewer had then under notice, and 
which was published after Mr. Sadler's unanswer- 
able defence of the Poor Laws, in his work on 
Ireland, had appeared, Mr. M'Culloch's views 
were found to be so radically altered, as to lead 
him to insert, — what is most abhorrent to a Mal- 
thusian, — an elaborate argument in favour of a 
legal provision for the poor! 

The legislative history, however, of the last fif- 
teen years, if a rapid retrospect be taken of it, 
affords the best proof of the fact, that Malthusian- 
ism, once so paramount, must now to be reck- 
oned among the things gone by. 

During the period between 1820 and 1830, the 
poor laws of England seemed abandoned by all . On 

* Edinburgh Review. Vol. LII. p. 342. 
O 2 



196 LIFE OP MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

every side they were reviled ; on none, defended. 
The only question seemed to be, who should be their 
legislatorial executioner ? The government, what 
with the currency question, the Romish question, 
the free-trade question, and the ordinary duties of 
an executive, seemed to shrink from the task ; and 
individual members of parliament were every now 
and then offering their services to perform what 
seemed to be a duty alike recognized by all. 

In 1821 a bill was introduced by Mr. Scarlett, 
carried through several stages, and only dropped 
at last on account of the approaching close of the 
session. This bill treated the existing law as alto- 
gether indefensible, and at once proposed to fix a 
maximum of amount to be raised, and to take away 
the right of relief in all but certain cases. The 
mover's language was, that " The effect of making 
an unlimited provision for the poor, it would ap- 
pear, a 'priori, must be this, to operate as a pre- 
mium for poverty, indolence, licentiousness, and 
immorality." 

A year or two after, another bill was^brought 
in, which seriously proposed to make every^reci- 
pient of parochial relief, throughout the kingdom, 
wear a badge of disgrace, and a mark of crimi- 
nality ! 

In 1827, Mr. Slaney introduced a measure which 
was also abandoned for want of time ; and which 



HIS WORK ON POPULATION. 197 

would have enacted, almost literally, the Malthu- 
sian code. It proposed to take away, altogether, 
the general right of relief, and to permit assistance 
to be given only in certain cases. The theory and 
writings of Mr. Malthus were especially appealed 
to, in support of this measure. 

In the following year the same gentleman offer- 
ed a fresh proposition, which, however, he soon 
desisted from pressing. 

Shortly after this, the writings of Mr. Sadler be- 
gan to exercise an influence over the public mind ; 
and accordingly, while we hear no more of these 
propositions to take away the poor man's right of re- 
lief, we observe, when the government itself at 
last took up the question, a marked amelioration 
of tone. 

Lord Althorpe, in 1834, when opening his plans 
for the amendment of the Poor Laws, alluded to 
the economists and their theories, only to disavow 
their opinions. He admitted that the ground he 
took was opposed to the principles of what was 
called " political economy ; " but he preferred 
being ruled by the ordinary feelings of humanity. 
And, accordingly, while there was much that was 
harsh and objectionable in his plan, there was 
still nothing of Malthusianism in it. No taking 
away or abridging the right of relief; no badge of 
crime inflicted on the distressed ; but a distinct 



198 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

adherence to the ancient law. We are not ex- 
pressing a decided approval of the measure, when 
we admit or rather assert, that it was a very differ- 
ent one from what Mr. Malthus and his disciples 
would have counselled. 

Such, then, has been the success of Mr. Sadler's 
greatest work ; the most complete, — however 
imperceptible to a cursory view, — that could 
possibly be conceived. With far less of public 
applause than greeted and followed his treatise on 
Ireland, its effect on the mind and legislation of 
the country has been equally signal and triumph- 
ant. The one, in fact, carried the poor laws into 
Ireland ; the other saved the poor laws of England ; 
and both may be safely said to have exerted a 
more powerful influence on the bent, and purposes, 
and opinions of the English people, than any other 
productions of a similar class, during the present 
century. 

A brief mention may here be made of a sin- 
gle circumstance, which may perhaps, to many 
minds, place the fact of the destruction of the 
Malthusian theory in a clearer point of view. 
We allude to the remarkable change in the 
marketable value of Mr. Malthus's work. 

When Mr. Sadler first explained his theory, 
and produced his proofs, to the publisher of Mr. 
Malthus's work, the exclamation of the latter was, 



HIS WORK ON POPULATION. 199 

— " Why, Sir, you are going to destroy a copy- 
right which cost me five hundred guineas ! " 
And most fully and literally was this prediction 
fulfilled. 

At the moment of the appearance of Mr. Sadler's 
treatise, in the commencement of 1830, the wri- 
ter of these lines felt it desirable to compare the 
two systems together ; and not having a very high 
opinion of Mr. Malthus's work, he sought for a copy 
at a cheaper rate than the usual price. But the 
reply was, that it was never to be had even a 
shade below the publication-price ; and that 
second-hand copies, in sales, brought nearly the 
first cost when new. 

Such was the market-value of the book, in the 
year 1830. In the year 1835 — only five years 
afterwards, the publisher sold off the remainder of 
the edition, issued at 24s, — and the price be ob- 
tained for them was 5s. 9d. per copy ! 

Whether there exists a parallel case, of a work, 
previously considered to be of established fame, 
and yet thus utterly and almost instantly destroyed 
by an opposing theory, we are unable to say. 



CHAPTER VIIL 

THE SESSION OF 1830 — MOTION FOR POOR LAWS IN 
IRELAND — DISSOLUTION — NEW PARLIAMENT. 

Mr. Sadler's attendance on his parliamentary 
duty in the spring of 1830 was unremitting. We 
find his name in the debate on the address, Feb. 5, 
and on various other occasions in March, April, 
and May. 

But his mind now began to turn upon the best 
method of introducing to parliament those plans 
which constantly occupied his thoughts, and the 
prospect of bringing which under the attention of 
the legislature, had ever constituted his chief mo- 
tive for entering into public life. The regenera- 
tion of the industrious classes of the empire, 
required, he deeply felt, a series of remedial mea- 
sures ; but mature reflection convinced him that 
the first in order must be, the equalization of Ire- 
land with England, in the matter of a national pro- 
vision for the indigent poor. On the 3d of June, 
therefore, pursuant to notice given, he moved the 
following wise and temperate resolution, — a resolu- 



POOR LAWS FOR IRELAND. 201 

tion which, in the course of the last two years, 
we have seen carried into full effect, by a positive 
enactment, solemnly agreed to by large and 
triumphant majorities in both houses— 

" Resolved, that it is the opinion of this House, 
that the establishment of a system of poor laws in 
Ireland, on the principle of that of the 43d of Queen 
Elizabeth, with such alterations and improvements 
as the course of time, and the difference in the 
circumstances of England and Ireland may require, 
— is expedient and necessary to the welfare of the 
people of both countries." 

The speech in which Mr. Sadler proposed this 
resolution, and thus opened in parliament the first 
of his plans for the improvement of the condition 
of the industrious classes, seems to us a model of 
its kind. Its restricted extent, occupying in deli- 
very little more than an hour, shewed that nothing 
was wasted on useless ornament or verbiage. The 
tone and general character of the composition is 
grave, earnest, and argumentative ; and whollyfree 
from what constituted the speaker's besetting 
temptation, a tendency to the florid and the over- 
wrought. And the substance of the address, its 
statements and reasonings, constituted a demon- 
stration of the undeniable justice and urgent ne- 
cessity of his proposition, which set all reply at de- 
fiance, and to which, in fact, none was attempted. 



202 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

His opening observation was explanatory of his 
motive for placing this question in the foreground 
of all his plans for the amelioration of the condition 
of the labouring poor. The same consideration 
was also well calculated to arrest the attention of 
the British legislature. The subject was pro- 
pounded as an English and a Scotch question ; 
not at all as an Irish one exclusively. 

"The first argument, then, which I shall advance 
in behalf of this proposition, is founded on the 
absolute necessity of such a provision, as regards 
the labouring classes of England. Much has been 
said of late concerning the necessity of assimilat- 
ing as closely as possible the institutions of the 
two Islands ; the necessity of so doing, in this 
respect, is abundantly apparent. The Union has 
not only identified the legislatures of the two 
countries, but has given far greater facilities to 
their mutual intercourse ; and still more closely 
even than that great measure, have the invention 
and extensive adoption of steam-navigation united 
them, and placed them, indeed, in point of prac- 
tical effect, in closer contact than, for instance, 
are the great and populous northern counties, with 
this the metropolitan one — rendering the interna- 
tional communication, as respects the mass of the 
community, more easy, cheap, and rapid. The 
effects are abundantly plain, and in the present 



POOR LAWS FOR IRELAND. 203 

state of things irremediable. The institution of 
the Poor Law of England encourages the de- 
mand for, and increases the value of labour, as 
well as abates distress ; in Ireland, in consequence 
of the want of such a law, labour is discouraged, 
and distress increased. The inevitable result is — 
the constant influx of numbers from the latter 
country, which nothing but a better and uniform 
system will ever prevent. 

" Other circumstances also conspire to make 
this defect a still greater evil. If we consider the 
necessary consequences of Irish absenteeism, and 
the great extent to which it is unhappily carried ; 
the want of labour, exorbitant rents, and the ruin- 
ous and oppressive system of underletting, to 
which it gives rise ; if to these evils are added 
the clearing of farms, and driving forth the inha- 
bitants at the pleasure of those who are thus in- 
vested virtually, though not ostensibly, with the 
power of life and death, and who are the means 
too frequently of occasioning the latter ; if we also 
recollect that steam navigation has, by facilitating 
the cheap and speedy export of cattle, been ano- 
ther cause of that increase in the size of farms, 
and comparative diminution in the tillage of the 
country, which has dispossessed so many little 
farmers and their labourers of their employment 
and their homes ; I say, if we take into conside- 



204 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

ration these and other distressing facts, we are no 
longer at a loss to account for that mass of misery 
which is in constant existence, and which it is diffi- 
cult to overrate or describe. Numerous little cul- 
tivators, who, notwithstanding the parsimony of 
living to which they submit, are barely enabled 
to sustain life, are deprived of their last shilling, 
and sent forth at once, without the slightest pro- 
vision, upon a country which yields them no 
employment, and affords them no relief. Whi- 
ther can they direct their course ? Many who 
can proceed so far, find " a distant home be- 
yond the western main ;" — more still repair to 
this country, where they overstock the market of 
labour, and occasion in no inconsiderable degree 
that distress under which our industrious popu- 
lation now suffers. Such, then, are the undeni- 
niable consequences of the want of a provision for 
the poor of Ireland similar to that of this country. 
The case would be precisely the same in England, 
were the poor in one half of it adequately provided 
for, and were they in the other left totally desti- 
tute. The indigent in the latter part would most 
certainly take refuge in the former, even though 
not entitled to direct relief, in order to share in the 
general advantages which must ever result from 
such a system. The Irish do so, and in increas- 
ing multitudes — nor do I blame them. I condemn 



POOR LAWS FOR IRELAND. 205 

those who refuse them in their own country that 
relief in their distresses which justice and huma- 
nity equally dictate, and which is rendered in 
every other civilized nation upon earth. Thus is 
it that the want of a legal provision for the poor 
of Ireland operates as a grievous injury on those of 
England. The proprietors in the former island, 
being under no obligation to sustain the unem- 
ployed, the destitute, and the distressed, have an 
interested and selfish motive, which may indeed 
be denominated a premium, for thus getting rid 
of them and driving them forth to utter destitu- 
tion, when many of them necessarily take refuge 
here. They come for employment and for bread. 
The market of labour here is consequently over- 
stocked, and its value greatly depressed by the 
unnatural rivalry of those numbers who are annu- 
ally obliged to make this country their asylum. 
Thus it is that in the field and in the factory, at 
the forge or at the loom, — in every sphere of in- 
dustry, the Englishman finds himself interfered 
with, his wages greatly reduced, and himself in 
many cases thrown out of employment. The 
poor creatures who take refuge here, I repeat, I 
do not blame; absenteeism has deprived them 
of the means of subsistence, and, in effect, ex- 
pelled them from the country. I would there- 
fore receive and relieve them till a better system 



206 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

is established. In the mean time, however, I 
cannot refrain from reprobating in the strongest 
terms the conduct of those who cause these con- 
stant deportations. The interests of our own poor 
imperiously demand that those of Ireland should 
be sustained ; nor are their interests alone con- 
cerned ; so great and general have the evils to 
which I have referred become, that it will, I think, 
be found ere long, that the rights of property, as 
well as those of poverty, will alike prescribe the 
same remedy ; and then indeed may the poor of 
Ireland confidently hope for redress." 

But from this secondary, though urgent argu- 
ment, the speaker proceeded at once to the higher 
ground of a claim of right ; asserting without he- 
sitation, but at the same time defining with the 
greatest accuracy, what he felt to be the just 
claims of the poor. 

" I approach," he says, "the argument with 
the greater confidence of success, from having ob- 
served that the ground of all the several propo- 
sitions which have been lately submitted to this 
House, and some of them adopted, has been sim- 
ply that of justice, — alterations of the most mo- 
mentous nature, with some of which I had the 
misfortune not to concur ; others of a like kind, 
which are still, it appears, contemplated : changes 
affecting, I may say revolutionizing, many insti- 



POOR LAWS FOR IRELAND. 207 

tutions which had long been held sacred, have 
been all supported by the simple argument of jus- 
tice. No matter how ancient was the principle 
to be attacked ; no matter how deeply-rooted the 
prejudices which were to be encountered ; no 
matter how nearly individual interests might ap- 
pear to be touched ; all these, it was, and still Js 
agreed, ought certainly to give way to the prin- 
ciple of human rights — to the undoubted claims 
of justice. I hail these appeals, however I may 
differ sometimes as to their application ; I hail 
them more especially as regards my present mo- 
tion, which is one, the justice of which is perhaps 
more apparent and demonstrable, however consi- 
dered, than any abstract legislative proposition 
ever entertained. And if to justice be added ano- 
ther plea, hardly less sacred, certainly not less 
touching,— that of mercy, I cannot but think that 
it must be successful : that it will prevail on this 
occasion, I cherish the strongest hopes ; but that 
it will be finally triumphant, I am fully certain. 
A measure which is equally dictated by the prin- 
ciples of reason, and the feelings of humanity ; 
by the institutions of civilization, and the rights 
and interests of society at large ; which has been 
sanctioned by the highest authorities that have 
ever existed, and adopted by every civilized coun- 
try upon earth, cannot be withheld from that one 



208 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

island which, though forming an integral part of 
the richest empire in the world, stands forth as 
one of the most striking examples of misery which 
Europe presents ; and in which, therefore, a nati- 
onal system of chanty is the most essentially ne- 
cessary. Before touching, however, upon this 
right of poverty, it may be proper to define what 
is meant by it. It is not put forth on behalf of 
the poor, as a right to a division of any part of 
the real property of the country ; on the contrary, 
it is one urged in perfect consistency with all the 
just claims of property, however rigidly main- 
tained, and by whomsoever expounded ; it simply 
implies, a real and indisputable right, that, after 
the institutions of the country have sanctioned the 
monopoly of property, the poor shall have some 
reserved claims to the necessaries of life ; and 
that these claims shall be available in the case of 
those only who may be smitten with sickness, and 
consequently incapable of labour ; disabled by age 
or incurable disease, and who can therefore la- 
bour no more ; of that infancy which, left parent- 
less and destitute, makes so touching a demand 
upon our care ; of that state of wretchedness, so 
common in Ireland, owing to causes to which I have 
already alluded, when those who are most wil- 
ling, and even anxious to work, can nevertheless 
obtain no employment : that these should be re- 



POOR LAWS FOR IRELAND. 



209 



lieved in some humble degree, so confined, if you 
please, and limited, that the right thus recog- 
nised shall make but a small inroad on 
the amount of that wealth which shall be called 
upon to administer to these necessities ; nay, on 
the contrary, when duly understood, should actu- 
ally increase its advantages. Finally, that all 
assistance should be administered in the form of 
remunerated labour, wherever the applicants are 
capable of it, to those who are willing and anxious 
to earn their humble pittance by the sweat of 
their brow. Such, then, are the narrow limita- 
tions of the right we assert in behalf of human in- 
digence ; — the bare right of existence." 

Having thus stated the principle, he naturally 
deals, in the next place, with its impugners. 

" But, Sir, it forms a distressing feature in some 
of the systems now promulgated, that this right, 
which for a succession of centuries has never been 
denied, now begins to be disputed. It lies at the 
foundation, however, of my proposition, and as such 
I shall attempt to uphold it; not indeed by any 
abstract arguments of my own, but by the unani- 
mous reasonings and declarations of the highest 
authorities that ever existed in the world, which 
I shall give in their own language. In doing this 
I shall not allude to the institutions of the legis- 
lators of the free states of antiquity, those of 



210 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

Greece and Rome, all of which it is well known 
recognised the right of their citizens to legal relief, 
and in a way so highly eulogized by many of 
their philosophers ; nor shall I draw an argument 
at present from the still more liberal and far more 
imperative and direct institutions of Moses. I 
shall not appeal to the authority of the primitive 
church before it was legally established, nor to 
its laws when it became dominant, in favour of 
this right ; it may suffice to state that it was ac- 
knowledged and enforced by all these, and by 
every argument, drawn from whatever source, 
human or divine. I will rather prove my position 
by the reasonings of those who have studied, in 
later times, the rights of mankind, and to whose 
exposition of them the world continues to appeal ; 
only selecting, however, a very few of these, but 
those few of such an order as that numbers could 
add nothing to the weight and importance of their 
authority." 

He then adduces the judgment of Grotius, Puf- 
fendorf, Montesqueui, Locke, Blackstone, and 
Paley, and alludes to others, — as Tillotson, But- 
ler, Bacon, Hale, and others, whom time forbade 
him to quote ; and proceeds in the next place, 
to brush away some of the follies of modern wri- 
ters, — such as, that the provision for the poor 
ought to be optional, — ought to be left to the 



POOR LAWS FOR IRELAND. 211 

voluntary system ; — that the poor ought to be 
taught frugality, and be obliged to provide for 
their own necessities by savings'-banks ! &c. 
Having disposed of these puerilities, he returns 
to the main question, and proceeds to shew, that 
as all statists and philosophers of the least repu- 
tation have asserted these rights, so all civilized 
countries have recognized and provided for them. 
Having adverted to ancient history, he proceeds ; 
" Can there be a doubt whether Christianity 
weakened the obligation to make a certain and 
adequate provision for the poor — that religion of 
which a writer so eloquently alluded to the other 
evening, Bolingbroke, said, " that charity was its 
very boast ! " Wherever that religion has spread, 
there have legal institutions in behalf of poverty 
prevailed. In some of its forms it may be doubted 
whether the provision has not been carried to a 
culpable excess, increasing and perpetuating, by 
actual and permanent temptations to idleness and 
improvidence, that poverty it was intended only 
to relieve. History informs us how early a Poor 
Law was introduced amongst ourselves. It was 
established by the father of our monarchy, and 
the founder of our liberties — Alfred. He ordained, 
as one of our earliest law-books informs us, that 
the poor should be sustained by the parsons and 
inhabitants of the parishes, so that none should 

p 2 



212 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

die for want of sustenance ; a provision substan- 
tially the same as that which is now happily es- 
tablished amongst us. In all the Catholic coun- 
tries of Europe we know the extent and splendour 
of the endowments for the poor. In the Protes- 
tant ones, another, and I think, "a preferable, sys- 
tem prevails, namely, a direct Poor Law, which 
connects moral superintendence with charitable 
relief. This is the case, for instance, in Switzer- 
land ; in Sweden ; in Denmark ; in Norway. 
Even Iceland, poor as she is, is not too poor to 
have a law for the relief of the indigent. Holland, it 
need not be said, had very early in its history the 
same institution, and has long been a pattern to 
the world for the exemplary manner in which the 
poor are there sustained. In the Netherlands there 
is a similar law in full operation. In France, where 
the spoliation of the Revolution ruined so many of 
the rich, and seized also upon the funds set apart 
for poverty and distress, the public revenue is be- 
ginning to be disbursed for the relief of indigence, 
and a regular system is gaining ground through- 
out the country. In the New World also, where 
we had been taught by some to suppose that no 
poor, nor laws for their relief, existed, we know, 
on the contrary, that the most liberal and efficient 
system of legal charity ever established is in full 
operation, involving, as far as our information 



POOR LAWS FOR IRELAND. 213 

hitherto extends, an expense to which even Eng- 
land is a stranger. Thus, for instance, the poor 
of the city of New York cost the public not far 
short of 200,000 dollars annually, and those of 
Philadelphia upwards of 100,000; sums which 
strike us as surprisingly large when we consider 
the cheapness of provisions and the great demand 
for, and high price of, labour, and what vast tracts 
of uncultivated land of the most fertile description 
are every where found. In proof of the liberality 
with which our transatlantic brethren sustain their 
poor, Dr. Dwight may be appealed to, or Warden, 
who estimates the annual cost of their paupers as 
amounting to forty- five dollars each. 

"I might extend these proofs of the universality 
of a national provision for the poor even beyond 
the limits of Christendom. It exists in the East, 
and especially in the Mahomedan countries ; nay, 
even in China, where, notwithstanding the pre- 
sent age has in extreme simplicity supposed the 
population to be so excessive as to render it neces- 
sary for the people to kill their children, and to 
eat almost any thing but each other from sheer 
want, — in China, Sir, there are Poor Laws, per- 
fectly adapted to the condition and habits of the 
country, in full operation, and carried to an ex- 
tent unknown in the western world, affording a 
direct provision to all beyond a certain and not 



214 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

very advanced age, and prescribing that lands 
shall be awarded on advantageous terms to those 
who want employment and subsistence ; an insti- 
tution to which, perhaps, the unrivalled perfec- 
tion of their minute cultivation, while that on a 
large scale is confessedly so contemptible, may be 
fairly attributed. Whichever way we turn, there- 
fore, we see a system of national charity com- 
pletely established, except in one country, and 
that country is found, unhappily, in our own 
European empire; and, still more lamentable is 
the fact, in that part of it where such an institu- 
tion is more than in any other indispensably ne- 
cessary. But I shall not dwell further upon these 
instances, — though embodying as they do the feel- 
ings, principles, and experience of mankind in 
all ages and countries of the world, they are of 
the highest importance to the argument. It is 
enough to have simply appealed to the fact, that 
in almost every country under the sun where the 
rights of human beings are at all recognised, and 
where the public institutions are professedly foun- 
ded upon them, there is a legal provision made 
for poverty, which is the more efficient the fur- 
ther such nations may be advanced in knowledge 
and character. So true is the observation of our 
great moralist, Dr. Johnson, — ' A decent provi- 
sion for the poor is the true test of civilization,' J 



POOR LAWS FOR IRELAND. 215 

He then, at some length, proceeds to demon- 
strate the peculiar claims of Ireland to be thus 
"civilized," and to trace the greater proportion 
of her sufferings and miseries to the want of such 
a legal provision, and concludes this branch of 
the subject as follows ; 

" Yes, Sir, notwithstanding the repeated and 
confident assertions to the contrary, there is not 
in the world a sphere where human labour might 
be more beneficially employed : whether on the 
millions of uncultivated acres, now wholly unpro- 
ductive, or on those which, though cultivated, 
are not, with reference to their potential produc- 
tiveness, half tilled ; or in those inexhaustible 
mines of wealth beneath the fertile surface, hi- 
therto almost wholly unexplored — in many of the 
noble rivers of the island, — on all its shores, — and 
surrounding these, in those wastes of the ocean 
which offer their supplies with unfailing certainty, 
and in quantities literally inexhaustible, — means, 
Sir, of profitable employment arise in every direc- 
tion ; of employment, which would at once ad- 
vance the people in all the arts of civilization ; 
invest the country with additional health and 
beauty, and crown it with increasing plenty. 
Strange that while nature herself thus solicits us 
to engage in those magnificent tasks which await 
future generations, it should be the present policy 



216 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLEK. 

to slight the means by which they can alone be 
accomplished, — human beings ; to pronounce these 
redundant in numbers, and expel them from the 
country on pain of starving them in it ! 

" Under all these circumstances, then, and 
after mature consideration, I have arrived at the 
conclusion that not only is a legal provision for 
the poor in Ireland the most just and necessary, 
bat that it would also be the most beneficial, of all 
national measures. It would discourage idleness ; 
it would raise the value of labour, now so distress- 
ingly low ; it would promote economy and dis- 
pense comfort ; it would ensure peace — nay it 
would diminish the expenditure, as well as the 
suffering and destitution of the country ; it would 
not only be a blessing to the poor, but a boon to 
the benevolent, by compelling those who are the 
main cause of creating and aggravating the gene- 
ral distress, — the absentees, — to contribute to its 
relief; in one word, it would equally advantage 
every class of society, the benefactors and the 
benefited ; and, in the literal meaning of the term, 
it would be that mercy which is ' twice blessed, 
which blesseth him who gives and him who takes.' ' 

He then left the question in the hands of the 
House, in the following appeal : 

" Sir, the poor of Ireland are this night at the 
bar of the Imperial Parliament. Many of the 



POOR LAWS FOR IRELAND. 217 

more fortunate of their fellow-countrymen already 
acknowledge their claims, and are most anxious to 
concede them. The interests of the nation demand 
a concession of those humble rights which have 
been already recognized in every civilized country 
upon earth. An act of mercy and justice can 
never be contrary to true policy ; and this, more 
especially, is one which conscience dictates, and 
the public voice demands ; and which, sooner or 
later, must therefore be conceded, even if now 
refused. May we better consult what is due to 
our character, to our constituents, and to our coun- 
try, and not record our verdict against justice and 
mercy, because they are found in the garb of 
poverty and distress. If I could bring before the 
most callous and persevering opponents of this 
measure who now hear me, those wretched objects 
who so loudly claim our consideration and relief ; 
if I could bid them, 

" Come like shadows, so depart 

Show their eyes, and grieve their heart — " 

then, Sir, I am sure their claims would be instantly 
acknowledged ; and, more than this, if it were 
possible, by an act of prescience, to look into futu- 
rity, and to summon forth those miserable victims 
of suffering and poverty, which the further with- 
holding of so just and necessary a law will as 



218 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

surely consign to their melancholy fate, as the 
want of it has already so often done in times past ; 
if we could know the sorrow, destitution, and 
death, that will be the inevitable result of our 
longer neglect, and depict the deeper anguish and 
long-suffering which the more wretched survivors 
will have to endure, then, Sir, could any man 
that bears the human form hesitate as to his vote 
on this occasion ? And, Sir, if ours cannot, there 
is an eye that does foresee these sufferings, and a 
Being that will record them— a Being who will 
not hold him guiltless, who, seeing his bro- 
ther have need, and knowing that he will re- 
quire assistance, shutteth up his bowels of com- 
passion against him ; and all from a deep and 
doubtful speculation, founded, as I contend, upon 
the grossest error and delusion, that the measure 
proposed may possibly somewhat diminish the 
revenue of the more affluent part of the commu- 
nity. Sir, I hope better things of this Parlia- 
ment, whose days we know but too well 
are few and numbered. May it illustrate its 
remaining span by an act of mercy, which shall 
immortalize this session, and render it, in one of 
its terminating deeds, worthy the gratitude and 
admiration of the country, and the applauding re- 
membrance of posterity ! " 



POOR LAWS FOR IRELAND. 219 

Such was the opening of this great question in 
Parliament. Nothing beyond the statement of 
the case, could of course be looked for on this 
occasion. Denounced, as the very idea had been 
for years past, as preposterous, ruinous, and al- 
most treasonable, it was much to gain a patient 
hearing for a serious argument in its favor. No 
division took place ; the Government not acceding 
to the proposition, it passed in the negative. But 
the blow had been struck, and the question was, 
in effect, carried. An unanswerable argument 
had been laid before the British Parliament, and 
through it, before the British people. The result 
was certain, its accomplishment was only a ques- 
tion of time. This was confessed, in a single 
twelvemonth after, by Mr. Secretary Stanley, 
who, in once more opposing, in 1831, Mr. Sadler's 
renewed motion, said, that " He could not con- 
clude without expressing his persuasion, that an 
opinion in favor of Poor Laws was every day gain- 
ing ground in Ireland ; and that to an extent 
which no government could, or ought much longer 
to oppose." 

At the end of this month, (June) the death of 
George IV. terminated the existing Parliament, 
and Mr. Sadler proceeded to Newark, for which 
borough he was again returned, on the 6th of 



%20 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

August, after another fruitless opposition on the 
part of Sergeant Wilde. 

Immediately after his re-election, Mr. Sadler 
joined his family at Redcar, where he passed the 
next three months. 



CHAPTER IX, 



THE SESSION OF 1830-31. — THE REFORM BILL. 

The first Parliament of William IV. opened on 
the 26th of October, 1830, and Mr. Sadler was, 
as usual, present in his place. 

Apart from the two great sections of the House 
of Commons, — the ministerial and opposition, — 
that session shewed a third division, as completely 
organized and prepared for action as either of the 
other two. Those earnest and conscientious op- 
posers of Romish ascendancy, who had felt deeply 
aggrieved by the conduct of the Duke of Welling- 
ton and Sir Robert Peel, in adopting the Relief 
Bill urged upon them by their opponents, found 
their numbers increased by the recent elections ; 
while their wrongs remained unatoned, and their 
feelings of hostility unappeased. They began, 
therefore, to draw together in closer bonds than 
heretofore, and to wait for the moment when it 
might be in their power to punish those recreant 



222 LIFE OP MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

friends, whom they considered to have betrayed 
the Commonwealth. That desired opportunity 
was not long postponed. 

On the 15th of November, Sir Henry Parnell 
made his attack on the ministerial proposition for 
the Civil List of the new reign ; when the " coun- 
try party," as they were termed, joined the oppo- 
sition with all their forces ; the cabinet suffered 
a defeat by a vote of 233 against 204 ; — and the 
next day declared itself dissolved, by the resig- 
nation of the whole administration. The King 
immediately called upon Lord Grey to form a 
government, and after a brief and hurried session 
of a few weeks, the House of Commons broke up, 
to meet again in the ensuing February. 

For the support of Sir Henry ParnelFs motion, 
and consequent overthrow of the Duke of Welling- 
tons administration, " the country party," with 
whom Mr. Sadler acted, have often been visited 
with severe reproach. It therefore becomes our 
duty, in narrating these circumstances, to consider, 
for a few moments, the question of, upon whom 
the blame of destroying that Ministry, and " let- 
ting in the Whigs," ought injustice to rest. After 
the fullest consideration we can give the subject, 
we are compelled to declare, that in our view, the 
blame of that whole catastrophe must rest upon 
the administration itself, and upon it alone. 



DISSOLUTION OF THE MINISTRY. 223 

In the first place it is undeniable, that the 
highest degree of provocation had been given ; 
and that, as far as party ties and obligations were 
concerned, the sincere Protestants in Parliament 
had been fully released from all bonds to the 
Wellington administration. It is also perfectly 
clear, that the responsibility for their votes, 
attaching to a ministry, as such, and to a number 
of independent members of Parliament, is very 
different in kind and degree. The one class is 
bound to consider every probable and even possi- 
ble consequence which may arise out of a vote, — 
the other needs only to look to the hones- 
ty of the vote itself. An " unattached'' mem- 
ber may without hesitation assist in the over- 
throw of what he considers a bad govern- 
ment ; leaving to others the question, of how that 
government is to be replaced. Even if, contrary 
to any expectations he could rationally form, — 
a still worse should succeed, and if that worse 
administration should descend to crimes of which 
he could have formed no anticipation, — his vote, 
given in sincerity, simply for the removal of a 
Cabinet in which he could place no confi- 
dence, remains morally unimpeachable. 

But let us take a larger view. The real cause 
of the fall of the administration of 1829-30, is 
not to be found in a casual vote upon the Civil 



224 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

List. Nor is it just to its opponents to charge that 
dissolution upon them, which its own innate 
weakness rendered certain, even without their 
hostile movement. That Cabinet fell, because 
by its conduct during those two years, it had 
alienated in turn, both the great parties in the 
country, and stood, now, — or rather attempted 
to stand, — without any popular support whatever ! 
There are, were, always have been, and always 
will be, two great parties in England, — the 
Conservative, and the Progressive. All who take 
any active part in politics must range themselves 
under one of these two banners. The one embo- 
dies those who fear change more than they desire 
improvement : — the other, those who desire 
improvement more than they tremble at change. 
The first class properly appreciates the high 
state of liberty, security, civilization and happi- 
ness, at which England has already arrived ; 
and consequently looks with some apprehension 
on propositions, which, it is feared, by tending 
to fundamental changes, would endanger all these 
blessings. The other, inclined somewhat to 
undervalue the benefits already realized, is ever 
reaching forward with eagerness to some further 
attainment. Both these principles of action are 
necessary to our political well-being. Without 
the check interposed by the first, the i( move- 



DISSOLUTION OF THE MINISTRY. 225 

ment party " would urge the machine of the 
state so rapidly forward as to endanger its very 
existence ; — without the progression induced by 
the second, society would soon stagnate into utter 
corruption. A truly desirable government would 
rest upon the first, and borrow life and energy 
from the second. 

Now such had been the ill luck, or rather the 
fatuity of the Wellington administration, that it 
had contrived, within the short space of less 
than two years, to quarrel irremediably with both 
these great parties ; and it consequently found 
itself depending, in Nov. 1830, solely upon mere 
official and family connection. In Parliament it 
had not a majority ; out of Parliament it had not 
a single disinterested friend. 

The Cabinet had first contrived to offend, most 
needlessly and most absurdly, all the best and 
most conscientious portion of its own supporters. 
The Tory party was necessarily made up, as all 
large bodies must be, of some men thoroughly 
honest, and some only conventionally so ; —of some 
who were led by prejudice, or habit, or long-esta- 
blished party connection ; and of others who acted 
from deeply-rooted principle and conviction. 

Now the bulk of those who ought to have been 
the most cherished and honoured, — the Tories 
from principle and conviction,— were united in one 

Q 



LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

opinion, that the exclusion of the vassals of Rome 
from power, was necessary to the preservation of 
the liberties of England. Nor was this a mere 
idle bugbear, or woman's fear ; picked up no 
one knew how. It was the settled judgment 
of the authors and restorers of liberty in England, 
the men of the Reformation, and the men of the 
Revolution ;— it was the conviction of Milton, 
of Russell, and of Locke; the firm resolve of 
Somers and of Sydney. 

Now this settled principle of Toryism, rooted 
deeply in the minds,— with some few exceptions, 
— of all who most deserved honor and esteem 
among their own supporters, — the Wellington 
administration decided to set at nought. And 
set at nought it was, in the most insulting and 
irrational way possible. Without any previous 
consultation or discussion, and without even the 
pretence of a conversion to the contrary principle, 
the honest supporters of the Cabinet received 
a sudden call to abandon all their old profes- 
sions and principles % and this, not in deference 
to superior reason or argument, nor even in un- 
willing obedience to some fancied state-necessity ; 
but merely because it seemed to their official 
leaders to be most expedient I 

And this "expediency," about which so much 
was said, and upon which the whole question 



DISSOLUTION OF THE MINISTRY. 227 

was made to turn, resolved itself into nothing 
more than this, — that the leader of the house of 
Commons did not like, once a year, to be left 
in a minority of 2, or of 5 ! even upon a question 
called an " open one. 5 ' And the result of yield- 
ing to the dictates of this said expediency, was, 
that in less than two years from that time, he 
was left in a minority of 29 3 upon a question 
vital to his ministry; and was forced to resign 
his office ! In 1828, resisting the Papal encroach- 
ments, his government seemed so strong that none 
could have ventured to assign a term to its exist- 
ence ; in 1830, having yielded to Rome, he found 
himself like Samson shorn of his locks ; and fell, 
not again to arise until years had passed away in 
vain resistance to the evil spirit which he himself 
had unbound. 

However, by this first false step, his own party 
had been broken up, and all the most honorable 
and conscientious members of it, thoroughly alien- 
ated. The apparent gain, which, for the moment, 
seemed to counterpoise this loss, was the adhesion 
of the Whig opposition, who looked upon the 
Cabinet as converts to their own principles, and 
for a short period yielded them a delusive sup- 
port. And thus, in the false position, of being 
abhorred by their friends, and sustained by their 

q 2 



228 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER, 

enemies, the Ministry stumbled through an un- 
easy dream of a few short months. 

This unnatural state of things could not have 
long continued to exist ; but its inevitable ter- 
mination was accelerated by a second blunder, 
in extent and in folly nearly equalling the first. 
The Whigs had embraced the recreant Tories, as 
newly-converted adherents to the Progressive 
principle. They expected, and naturally and 
reasonably expected, that having taken the great- 
est and most hazardous step in the path of what 
was called " Reform," the neophytes would pro- 
ceed boldly in the course on which they had so 
undauntedly entered. " This was looked for,"— 
and very reasonably looked for, " and this was 
balked." 

The Administration had committed one grand 
error, in yielding to a demand which principle 
contemned, and only a supposed expediency 
counselled. They now fell into a still greater; in 
refusing a claim to which no principle was op- 
posed, and which a real and genuine expediency 
prescribed. They had earned their ruin by a 
want of steadiness ; they were now to complete 
that ruin by an exhibition of irrational tenacity. 

There were boroughs in England, — and not 
one or two merely, but several, — in which, noto- 
riously and beyond all doubt, the constituencies 



DISSOLUTION OF THE MINISTRY. 229 

had become so universally corrupt, as to be pur- 
chasable, en masse, at every election. Nothing 
could be clearer than that no principle whatever 
could be violated by at once depriving these guilty 
bodies of a right, which they only held as trustees 
for the public at large, and yet had abused to the 
sole and selfish promotion of their own private 
emolument. 

There were also several large towns, which had 
risen into wealth and importance since the last 
settlement of the electoral system, and which 
consequently were entirely omitted in the existing 
scheme of representation. The inhabitants of 
these towns were naturally discontented at their 
continued exclusion from the full benefits of 
the Constitution ; and the bulk of the people 
throughout England sympathized in their com- 
plaints, and earnestly desired their enfranchise- 
ment. Here, then, was an instance in which ex- 
pediency might lawfully, nay, ought solely, to 
have dictated a course. Whenever Principle 
speaks, Expediency has only to be silent; but 
where Principle interposes not, there a just Ex- 
pediency is the rightful guide. Now in this case 
Principle could oppose no objection to the dis- 
franchisement called for, nor yet to the enfran- 
chisement claimed. Expediency, therefore, ought 
to have been consulted, and that Expediency 



230 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

would have counselled an immediate concession 
of these claims* 

No one, now, entertains the least doubt, that 
the suppression of ten corrupt boroughs, and the 
enfranchisement of ten of the large unrepresented 
towns, would have been a truly Expedient mea- 
sure. It would have satisfied the public ; would 
have given the Administration that popular char- 
acter and support which it greatly needed,— -would 
have rendered it impossible for the Whigs to have 
rallied their forces for an attack, and would thus 
have prevented the trial of that tremendous expe- 
riment, — the Reform Bill. But the boon was re- 
fused. Expediency, which had been listened to 
in 1829, when its voice, in opposition to Principle, 
ought not to have obtained the least attention, 
was now, in a case peculiarly its own, roughly 
spurned; and an open declaration of the perfection 
of that system which the whole country knew to 
be stained with imperfection, was hastily volun- 
teered. Having driven away the Slite of the Con- 
servative party, by the abandonment of Protes- 
tantism in 1 829 ; the Ministry now broke off all 
connexion with its later friends of the Progressive 
opinion, by its unnecessary denunciation of all 
Reform. And it lost its present supporters, with- 
out gaining back its former ones. Many of the 
most honest and decided of the Conservative party 



DISSOLUTION OF THE MINISTRY. 231 

had already declared in favour of some degree of 
Reform. Thus the Cabinet had contrived to be 
in each case thoroughly in the wrong. First 
yielding where it ought to have been firm as a 
rock ; — then, standing firm when it ought to have 
yielded. 

To render the error complete, the Ministry so 
managed matters as not only to alienate and 
offend by turns the two great parties in the State ; 
but also in each case to array itself in opposition 
to that third, not very definite, but certainly very 
important body, — the non-political mass of the 
middle orders. 

This is a power which no wise or prudent 
statesman will ever leave out of his calculation. 
It includes that immense body of the middle 
classes, who, disliking extremes, and discerning- 
some truth in both the Conservative and Progres- 
sive principles, — refrain from committing them- 
selves decidedly on either part, and are therefore 
ready, in the agitation of any great question, to 
reinforce and give a decided preponderance to 
that party which seems to have the best of the 
argument. 

Mr. Sydney Smith says, in one of his lively 
epistles, "I am astonished that these Ministers 
neglect the common precaution of a foolometer, 
with which no public man should be unprovided : 



232 LIFE OP MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

I mean, the acquaintance and society of three or 
four regular British fools, as a test of public 
opinion. Every Cabinet Minister should judge of 
all his measures by his foolometer, as a navigator 
crowds or shortens sail by the barometer in his 
cabin. 5 ' 

Now every one can see that Mr. Smith here 
applies the strong term of "folly," with his accus- 
tomed vivacity or extravagance, to the mere ab- 
sence of decided political principle, and the con- 
sequent subjection to prejudice and impression, 
He would not deliberately assert of the " public 
opinion" of England, that " a fool" would be its 
best or only representative. But he thus describes 
with his usual jocularity, that great body of the 
middle classes, who refuse to follow, at all hazards, 
this or that political leader ; and who hold them- 
selves prepared to judge of each proposition of the 
government, according to the momentary impres- 
sion it makes upon their own minds. 

It is dangerous, as Mr. Smith observes, for a 
statesman to disregard, even once, this floating 
mass of unfixed opinion ; and to present to it 
some scheme which shall instantly array its 
whole power against his system. It is hazardous 
even to make a single experiment of this kind, 
but a second is almost necessarily fatal ; and so 
the Wellington administration found it. The first 



DISSOLUTION OF THE MINISTRY. 233 

error, that of concession to the Romanists, fixed a 
feeling of disgust and alienation in the popular 
mind ; and out of this feeling grew a more lively 
wish than had previously existed, for some kind 
of Parliamentary Reform. Then, just when this 
feeling was about to exhibit itself, in the session 
of 1830, came the declaration of the head of the 
Administration, against all kinds and degrees of 
Reform; and from that moment the Cabinet 
stood, as we have before described it, — utterly 
destitute of all popular support. 

It is idle, therefore, at this time of day, to cast 
upon "the country party" of Nov. 1830, the 
blame of all that has occurred in consequence of 
that vote. The results of the course then taken 
were not foreseen, — they could not have been 
foreseen, — by any party. The depths of disgrace 
to which the Whigs have shewn themselves wit- 
ling to descend, the perils to which they have 
proved themselves to be ready to expose the 
country, so that, by any means, honest or dis- 
honest, office might be gained or retained, it was 
impossible, beforehand, to calculate upon. The 
question then before the House of Commons re- 
solved itself, in fact, into a vote of confidence in the 
existing administration. To have absented them- 
selves, en masse, would have been cowardly,— -to 
have given a vote of confidence would have been to 



234 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER, 

express a sentiment of trust and approbation 
which they did not feel ; — what, therefore, could 
the country party do, but vote as they did, — with 
Sir Henry Parnell ? Nor is it rational to attribute 
to that single vote, the whole destruction of the 
Ministry. That Ministry, as we have already 
seen, was fated to dissolution, by causes innate 
to itself. No single friendly or unfriendly vote 
could have prevented this its inevitable wreck. 
Neither in the country nor in the House had it a 
majority. How, then, was it possible for its ex- 
istence to have been prolonged ? 

Enough, however, has been said on this subject. 
We feel that in acting with that phalanx of honor- 
able and conscientious men who resolved by their 
votes to express their want of confidence in the 
authors of the Romish-Relief Bill, Mr. Sadler, 
however he might afterwards have had occasion 
to regret the unforeseen results, — at least affixed 
no stain to his own memory. That vote was as 
pure and as justifiable a vote as ever was given ; 
and for its consequences, those who had alienated 
their own friends, and divided their own party, 
are the persons who ought to be held mainly 
responsible. 

We pass on, then, to the entirely altered state 
of things which commenced with the re-opening 
of Parliament in February 1831. Mr. Sadler was 



THE REFORM BILL. 235 

again punctual in his attendance, and spoke on 
the 7th of February, and on the 15th of March, 
on questions connected with the ludicrously-un- 
fortunate budget of Lord Althorp. 

But the 1st of March introduced to Parliament 
and to the country the ministerial plan of Reform. 
It was debated on its first introduction for seven 
nights; — again on the 21st for two nights ; and 
again on the 18th of April for two nights more. 
On this last occasion Mr. Sadler delivered one of 
his most splendid and successful compositions. 
He seconded Gen. Gascoyne's motion, that it 
was " not expedient to diminish the number of 
representatives for England and Wales," which 
amendment was carried by 299 votes against 291, 
and in a few hours after, the Parliament was dis- 
solved. 

Mr. Sadler, and those with whom he acted, had 
not concurred, to the full extent, in the conviction 
expressed by the Duke of Wellington, that it was 
not possible to improve in the slightest degree, 
the existing constitution of the House of Commons. 
Several distinguished members of the Protestant 
party, such as the Duke of Richmond, Lord Win- 
chelsea, &c. had expressed a very different opi- 
nion in Parliament ; and as a manifestation of 
that opinion, the Marquis of Chandos attempted, 
before the Whig plan was promulged, to pass a 



236 LIFE OP MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

Bill for disfranchising Evesham, and giving mem- 
bers to Birmingham. And no one can doubt, that 
if that Administration which had shewn its facility 
in yielding, in 1829, in a far more serious and 
hazardous matter, had opened the new reign, in 
Nov. 1830, by proposing the suppression often 
corrupt boroughs, and the enfranchisement of 
Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Sheffield, Glas- 
gow, Bradford, Halifax, Macclesfield, Wakefield, 
and Stockport, the concession would have been 
accepted with entire satisfaction by the people, 
and a new prospect of popularity and permanence 
would have been opened for the government. 

Whether or not the results to the people at 
large would have been equally beneficial, it is 
not now easy to determine. It is clear that pub- 
lic opinion would have gained new channels 
through which to find access to the house of 
Commons, and by which the discussions of 
that assembly must have been considerably in- 
fluenced. It is also evident that the change, 
while it would have been a most important gain 
to the democratic portion of the constitution, 
would have still left the government for the time 
being in the possession of much real power. This 
would have been preferable to the existing state 
of things in one respect ; inasmuch as it is be- 
coming but too probable that there will never 



THE REFORM BILL. 237 

again be a permanent and decided majority for 
any government that may be formed ; the conse- 
quence of which is seen in the necessary weak- 
ness of the executive, and the embarrassment and 
stoppage of the public business. But while these 
inconveniences have already been felt and expe- 
rienced, we must remember that the results of a 
moderate, and perhaps not a final Reform, have 
not been ascertained, and cannot therefore be 
fully appreciated. 

With any scheme of temperate, cautious, and 
moderate Reform, Mr. Sadler, and the party 
with whom he acted, were quite prepared to agree. 
But when the Whigs, perceiving that no other 
course would preserve to them their recently- 
gained and dearly-loved place and power, except 
a general agitation and turmoil, — changed entirely 
their first intentions, and brought forward, not 
what they had promised, but a new constitution ; 
— then the country party was at once thrown 
violently back upon the supporters of the late 
administration, and the whole Conservative party 
was once more banded together, to resist a pro- 
position which they held to be altogether revolu- 
tionary. 

Mr. Sadler's speech on this occasion is one of 
those productions which cannot easily perish. It 
unites the two essentials of argument and elo- 



238 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

quence, in a degree very seldom equalled. He 
commences by charging upon the Whigs, their 
reckless departure from all their own professions 
and pledges, even of the last few weeks. He 
shewed that Lord Brougham had carefully vindi- 
cated himself, in the month of November pre- 
ceding, from the imputation of proposing " an in- 
novating or sweeping reform/' and had declared 
that he wished to " stand on the ancient way of 
the constitution," and " to repair, not to pull 
down." While Lord Grey had declared his views 
and intentions " to be guarded and limited by a 
prudent care not to disturb too violently, by any 
extreme changes, the established principles and 
practices of the constitution." 

With these professions, Mr. Sadler then pro- 
ceeded to contrast the measure actually proposed. 
Nothing could be more at variance. In fact, his 
own settled conviction was, that the plan had 
been deliberately altered, between November 
and March, with the most nefarious intentions. 
A leading Whig had said to him, exultingly, 
<l Well, if we cannot carry the Bill ourselves, at 
all events we can make it impossible for your party 
to conduct the government ! " In fact, the absolute 
necessity, if the Whigs were to remain in office, 
of a dissolution of the existing House of Com- 
mons, was too clear ; and equally clear was it, 



THE REFORM BILL. 239 

that in order to profit by a dissolution, it was 
necessary for them violently to excite the minds 
of the people. And thus it came to pass that a 
Bill was prepared which it was impossible for the 
Conservatives to receive, and which it was in- 
tended that they should reject ; and then the moment 
of the greatest excitement was eagerly seized upon, 
to resort to a general election. 

From this exposure of the total departure of 
the authors of the Bill from their own professions, 
Mr. Sadler proceeded to a view of the actual his- 
tory of the existing constitution of the House of 
Commons, and a comparison of it with the new plan 
of representation now proposed. He shewed how 
constantly the progress to a freer and larger re- 
presentation had been going on ; and that at no 
former period had the popular will been so exten- 
sively felt in that house as at present. He then 
pointed out the absurdities and anomalies of the 
new scheme ; which, as replacing an antiquated 
one, by a mighty change, ought of course, to have 
been in itself a well -contrived and consistent 
whole. He shewed that to the towns of England, 
possessing 2,920,095 inhabitants, the ministerial 
plan gave 295 representatives ; while to the rural 
districts, with 8,341,342 inhabitants, they assign- 
ed only 149. Thus giving to the resident in a 
borough, sir times as much political influence as 



240 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

he would possess if living in an agricultural dis- 
trict. He remarked, 

" When it is considered how little the inventors 
of this new constitution have been restrained by 
any of those considerations which have been more 
or less respected by all previous reformers, with 
one exception alone ; and hence that they have 
converted rights of property into mere trusts, and 
again have seized upon these trusts when it suited 
them, without any alleged breach whatsoever on 
the part of their ancient possessors, — I say, it is 
difficult to imagine how a system so utterly irre- 
concileable with sense or justice could have been 
projected. I have alluded to one exception among 
reformers as little swayed by scruples of the kind 
adverted to as these have been, and one who was 
the other evening eulogized in no very measured 
strains by his Majesty's Attorney-General, — I 
mean, Oliver Cromwell. Now I ask that learned 
eulogist of Cromwell, whether he will stand forth 
and defend the constitution now proposed, by a 
comparison with the one that great individual 
put forth ? I tell him that he cannot. Cromwell 
really did what these constitution-mongers have 
professed to do ; he conformed to the basis of 
property and population, which he evidently laid 
down for his guide. On a rather close examination 
of his plan, and comparing it with other documents, 



THE REFORM BILL. 241 

especially those which give, in a very few years 
after, the relative values of the respective counties, 
I have been surprised to find how nearly he con- 
formed to that rule. These have, notwithstanding 
their boasts on the subject, actually reversed it. 
He gave 237 members to the counties of England, 
and 143 to the towns. These give, as I have before 
observed, 149 members to the counties, and 295 to 
the towns. The masculine mind of the Protector 
could not produce any thing so false and incohe- 
rent as this attempt ; nor, tyrant as he was, stoop to 
any thing so partial and selfish as I shall speedily 
prove this to be." 

He then proceeded through the details of the 
plan, shewing the whole to be one mass of incon- 
sistency, confusion, and an utter oblivion and vio- 
lation of all principle ; and then proceeded to the 
following close ; — distinguished, it must be conce- 
ded, equally for justness of thought and majesty 
of diction. 

" Sir, I regard these new and revolutionary 
schemes with the greater apprehension and dislike, 
the more I consider them, and turn to the ancient 
constitution of my country with increasing attach- 
ment. But, when I contemplate that constitution, 
the object of my early reverence, and which all 
I have since read and observed in my passage 
through life has still more endeared to me, I con- 



242 LIFE OP MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

fess I am hurried away with feelings not perhaps 
quite consistent with calm deliberation ; but when 
I " awake my senses that I may the better judge," 
I find that reason itself heightens my enthusiasm ; 
while all those unrivalled names that have arisen 
among us, formed to correct the past and influence 
the future opinions of their country and of man- 
kind, have given immutability to those views on 
this most important subject, which I should be 
proud to cherish, whoever were their impugners. 
Still more do I feel assured when I find the great- 
est authorities of other countries, wholly unbias- 
sed, therefore, by national partialities, loud and 
unanimous in their admiration of our venerated 
form of government. Above all, when I consider 
that experience, far above all other authority, and 
whose voice is truth itself, has long confirmed its 
superiority, however compared ; I say, when I 
consult my own understanding, or am recumbent 
upon that of infinitely more powerful minds, or 
open my eyes to simple facts, I feel resolved to 
cherish and defend to the utmost of my power, 
and to the last, our happy constitution, and to 
resist every attempt of those who would destroy 
it, to place in its stead a scheme and invention of 
their own, though it were, far unlike this, theo- 
retically just and perfect. Sir, a comparison of 
the very names of those whose wisdom and patri- 



THE REFORM BILL. 243 

otism formed and perfected our constitution — of 
those who have eulogised and defended it— with 
those of the united cabinet who now seek to revo- 
lutionize and destroy it, would, I think, shame 
the attempt, and expose to just derision the self- 
sufficiency and temerity of their designs. In pa- 
triotism are these superior ? That were impossible. 
In genius, in wisdom, in knowledge, are they 
equal ? The keenest sarcasm which could be 
launched at them would be so to compare, or 
rather contrast them, one by one. It would then 
be found of each of them that he was not 

a twentieth part the tithe 
Of his precedent lord. 

The former, indeed, established their lasting fame 
by erecting upon its ancient foundation, and by 
careful and slow degrees perfecting, the fabric of 
the constitution ; these place their hopes upon 
mutilating and destroying it. I am not aware 
that they have any other claims upon the recol- 
lection of posterity but what rest upon the pre- 
sent attempt. If, however, they succeed in de- 
stroying this wonder of the world, they will be as 
certain of immortality as those who founded it. 
The memory of Erostratus is as secure as that of 
Ctesiphon. 

" But, Sir, much as I venerate the founders and 
assertors of the British constitution, I cannot dare 

R 2 



244 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

to attribute to human wisdom or human power, 
what I believe to be of still higher original. 
It may seem, indeed, that what man calls accident 
did much ; that necessity prompted and expe- 
rience adopted those several provisions, and form- 
ed those various adaptations, which constitute the 
system, which wisdom and patriotism at length 
perfected. But if ever there were an occasion in 
which we are justified in appealing to a higher 
power as overruling those events which produced 
that system which has been the blessing of this 
country and of the civilized world, it was that of 
the establishment of the free institutions of Eng- 
land. May not we exclaim with far greater em- 
phasis than could the Roman orator, " Non est 
humano consilio, ne mediocri quidem,judices, deorum 
immortalium curd, res ilia perfecta." The very 
origin of Englishmen was favourable to the insti- 
tution of freedom ; and every event in our change- 
ful history contributed ultimately to its slow, 
indeed, but hardy growth. The gradual, but 
constant increase of knowledge had been for 
centuries ameliorating the condition of the people, 
and remedying successively the grosser defects in 
our institutions, when the press poured forth a 
torrent of divine and humanising truth, and the 
Reformation broke the chains of despotism, civil 
as well as religious, and genius and eloquence 



THE REFORM BILL. 245 

went forth unmanacled to their great task of ele- 
vating the intellect and purifying the feelings of 
the people. The almost unbounded property of 
the ecclesiastic establishments, though infamously 
seized and disgustingly appropriated, became be- 
neficially divided. Commerce multiplied the 
wealth of the nation, and mingled society into 
a more undistinguishable mass, infusing through 
the whole a portion of its own spirit of enterprise 
and independence. Then was it that the dread- 
ful struggle between arbitrary monarchy and un- 
bridled democracy commenced, and was pursued 
with varying success, but with unabated fury, till 
military despotism, as it ever does, became the 
arbiter, and settled itself upon the subjugation of 
both ; thus inflicting upon the wearied and deso- 
lated nation, the bitter experience of tyranny in 
every different form, till its liberties were esta- 
blished, and I hope perpetuated, at the glorious 
Revolution — a revolution so little like any other 
the world had previously seen, or has since wit- 
nessed ; undesecrated by human blood ; uninflu- 
enced by lawless force ; when the wisest and the 
greatest of our countrymen in the brightest age 
of England, utterly rejecting those theoretical 
changes, which were as obviously suggested to 
them as to our more rash and ignorant innovators, 
established and completed that form of govern- 



246 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

ment which had no archetype in the history of 
the nations, and which had existed but indis- 
tinctly in the theories of former philosophers and 
politicians — which, embracing the wants and 
wishes of preceding times, provided for the free- 
dom and happiness of future ones. And thus, 
while its founders have been the means of ele- 
vating this country to its unrivalled pinnacle of 
greatness, they have, by furnishing the model of 
the noblest system of government ever witnessed, 
laid all other countries and every succeeding 
generation under an eternal debt of gratitude and 
admiration. 

" Something, perhaps, I might have added, re- 
garding the character of the representative branch 
of this constitution which it is now the fashion 
with many to decry. But it is unnecessary, nor 
is this the proper place to do so. Its eloquence 
will excite the admiration, as its acts will demand 
the gratitude of posterity. It has been the nurse 
of freedom ; the champion of the rights of nature ; 
and, above all, the protector of the friendless and 
the poor. It is identified with whatever is great 
or patriotic in the annals of the country. In a 
word, it is a fit personification of the great and 
noblest community upon earth. 

Si But if it should be objected that these observa- 



THE REFORM BILL* 247 

lions on the excellency of our present constitution, 
which our reformers stigmatize as so corrupt and 
rotten, are mere declamation, — a short and ready- 
way of evading what is often unanswerable, — let 
us no longer advert to opinions and authorities, of 
whatever order, but turn our eyes to undeniable 
facts. " The tree is known by its fruits," is a 
maxim as true in politics as in religion. What, 
then, are the fruits this system has produced ? 
And in this case the fruits must be of too general 
a character to be overlooked, and too plain to be 
mistaken. In adverting to them, I am not about 
to contend that the constitution we enjoy is theo- 
retically perfect, or that practically it has been 
always administered in the best possible manner ; 
still I think experience decides that the proud 
boast of successive generations of our patriots — 
that England possesses the most free, happy, and 
efficient form of government existing on the face 
of the earth, is just ; and that it has been pro- 
ductive of the happiest effects, is fully substan- 
tiated. Can we forbear, on an occasion like this, 
casting our eyes on the present condition of the 
empire, and tracing that measure of prosperity 
which we have, under Divine Providence, long 
enjoyed, to its true source ? A territory placed 
almost at the northern extremity of the civilized 



248 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

world ; so confined in extent as to justify the 
language of one of its poets — 

a spot 

Not quickly found, if negligently sought ; 

with no peculiar advantages of soil or climate ; 
with no wealth but what its people have created ; 
where, under the encouragement and guarantee 
of her free institutions, industry, directed by in- 
tellect and supplied by capital, has made the 
mightiest and most triumphant efforts ever wit- 
nessed in the history of man ; a country which, 
while accumulating its internal resources, has 
spread its dominion like a zone round the habit- 
able world, and gathered under its sway a greater 
mass of human beings than ever bowed to the 
sceptre of any of its ancient and vaunted universal 
monarchies ; a country where, for ages past, no 
hostile foot has dared to tread ; no slave has 
breathed; where impartial justice has constantly 
presided ; and which religion and humanity have 
made their own. The nurse of heroism and 
valour, the school of genius and science, and the 
seat of that moral empire which her literature 
has established throughout the world, she seems 
still destined to nobler tasks than those she has 
yet achieved, and to be visibly selected by Pro- 
vidence as the great instrument of benefiting and 
blessing the universal family of mankind. But I 



THE REFORM BILL. 249 

will not indulge in these topics of exultation and 
gratitude, however justly they may suggest them- 
selves to my mind. Let me only ask whether all 
these great and glorious results, which fill our 
past history, which crowd the present era, and 
which extend to the remotest verge of the earth, 
comport with the idea of a weak, corrupt, and 
decayed constitution — rotten at its very heart ! 
The idea is preposterous ! So long as political 
philosophy shall acknowledge that effects so great 
and stupendous as these are produced alone by 
adequate causes, so long will the vituperations 
against our present institutions be as inconsistent 
with possibility and truth, as they are insulting to 
the country. 

" Nor is the excellency of our constitution to be 
estimated alone by the blessings it has conferred 
upon us, but also by the calamities from which it 
has been equally the means of protecting us. It 
has preserved this country in security and internal 
peace, amidst the ruin of empires and the fall of 
thrones, — in freedom, amidst surrounding tyranny. 
Can such a system justify the illustration applied 
to it, more than once, during this discussion, that 
of a rotten and sinking vessel ? No ! its sound- 
ness and strength have been too recently tried. 
When the foundations of the social system of 
Europe were broken up, and the lawless floods 



250 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER, 

of democracy rose and overwhelmed the proudest 
elevations of society under one wide and stormy 
abyss ; when all seemed darkness above and tem- 
pestuousness around, then was the British consti- 
tution seen like a sacred ark ; mounting- triumph- 
ant in the storm, and preserving for a world re- 
stored to peace and order, the elements of loyalty, 
liberty, and law. Again, Sir, the same portents 
seem returning ; the cloud appears gathering and 
darkening in the distance, and the roar of the 
desolating floods is heard from afar! And this is 
the very moment that we are urged to quit the 
ark of our safety, and trust ourselves for preserva- 
tion to the shapeless raft which an inexperienced 
crew have suddenly provided for us ! 

" Such, then, is the constitution which we are 
exhorted to desert and deliver over to destruction, 
in order that another system may be erected on 
its ruins. But what an experiment ! If it suc- 
ceed, it were difficult to suppose that the country 
could become greater, and grow more prosperous 
than it has under the constitution bequeathed to 
us by our ancestors ; if it fail, dreadful indeed 
must be the consequences. The history of the 
world presents but few and doubtful instances of 
free communities surrendering their institutions in 
hope of an undefined advantage to their liberty 
and happiness by some great and sudden change ; 



THE REFORM BILL 251 

but it is crowded with cases where such a course 
has led to their degradation, slavery, and ruin. 
At all times such attempts have been found dan- 
gerous ; at the present moment, when almost 
every government of Europe seems shaken to its 
very base, and many have already tottered to their 
fall, the present attempt appears presumptuous in 
a tenfold degree. It might have been hoped that 
the events of the last fifty years would have in- 
structed us as to the value of our settled institu- 
tions, and united us all, hand and heart, in their 
preservation. The scenes of confusion, confisca- 
tion, and blood, had, we had hoped, closed. Is 
the same fearful drama to be again enacted — the 
character and catastrophe the same — the scene 
only changed, and changed, alas ! to our own 
country? May God forbid! I regard, it may be 
perceived, the condition proposed to us by the 
present bill, as only one of transition ; it is im- 
possible to view it otherwise. A proposition which 
is, on the part of its promulgators one of com- 
promise, and, on that of its most zealous sup- 
porters, accepted only as a first and large step to 
their ultimate designs, can only be the precursor 
of further and indefinite changes — 

Through what variety of untried being, 

Through what new scenes and changes it must pass, 

I shall not attempt to prognosticate ; but as to its 



252 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

final result, should it be adopted, few rational 
men can entertain much doubt. The catalogue of 
compliances which must be made, and of changes 
which must ensue, should this measure pass, are, 
I should think, sufficiently apparent in the minds 
of those who hear me. The steps by which we 
must descend to the catastrophe may not be pre- 
cisely seen, but the termination is certain, nor can 
it be remote. Had we no examples, too recent to 
be forgotten, and too similar in their nature to 
these meditated changes to be overlooked, it 
would be most easy, from their very nature, to 
divine their issue. The representative part of our 
system, — already, if we must confess the fact, so 
powerful as to leave the other branches of the 
legislature barely independent, were the influence 
which the crown exercises in this House, and 
the connexion of this House with the aristocracy, 
dissolved, — would, literally speaking, become om- 
nipotent. If there be any, the least, utility in the 
other branches of the legislature, the royal and 
aristocratic power of the state, — the present consti- 
tution of this House can alone preserve it. I will 
not attempt to prove by laboured arguments what 
must be abundantly clear without any ; but if 
any doubt remain on the mind of any one who 
hears me, I will resolve that doubt by an au- 
thority, second in point of information to none 



THE REFORM BILL. 2oo 

now among us, and the more to be attended to, 
inasmuch as he composes one of the members of 
his Majesty's present government. The author of 
that admired work, the Vindicice Gallicce, when 
advocating parliamentary reform upon the direct, 
in contradistinction to the virtual, principle of 
representation, thus delivers himself upon this 
momentous point: — " The powers of the King 
and Lords (says Sir J. Mackintosh) have never 
been formidable in England, but from discords 
between the House of Commons and its pretended 
constituents. Were the House really to become 
the vehicle of the popular voice, the privileges of 
the other bodies, in opposition to the sense of the 
people and their representatives, would become as 
dust in the balance " If, then, in this new system, 
not only the Lords Temporal, with all their 
power and privileges, and the hierarchy of the 
church, representing as they do their own order, 
but the Sovereign himself, would become "as dust 
in the balance" when weighed against this re* 
formed House of Commons, can we suppose that 
such unwieldy and expensive parts of the system 
would be retained, their functions having become 
totally superseded and their very existence use- 
less? That the monarchy itself, expensive as it 
must necessarily be, would in these days of rigid 
frugality and retrenchment be retained, its power 



254 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

being as dust in the balance, and its office there- 
fore useless, it were folly and infatuation to 
suppose. No, Sir, with a House of Commons 
thus "reformed," on the authority of the hon. 
member of his Majesty's government I have just 
quoted, the fate of the peerage and of the mon- 
archy is sealed. The next sweeping reform, and it 
could not be far distant, would wipe away this 
expensive "dust," and give to the government of 
the country not the essence merely, that it would 
have the moment this bill should pass, — but the 
very name of democracy. Let then his Majesty's 
present advisers, supposing (which God forbid) 
this measure should pass, approach their Sove- 
reign with this bill ; and, practising on his generous 
and unsuspecting nature, obtain his assent — at the 
moment his royal hand shall inscribe the fatal act, 
it will require no peculiar strength of mental 
vision to perceive the image of another hand, 
shadowy indeed, but darkening into reality, and 
inscribing in portentous characters upon the tablets 
of the history of this ancient monarchy, Mene — 
* Thy kingdom is departed from thee!' " 

We are aware, indeed, that in adducing this 
passage, splendid as it is, we are open to the 
remark, that the direful predictions of the closing 
sentences have never been fulfilled by the event. 



THE REFORM BILL. 255 

The same objection would apply to many of the 
finest passages in the speeches of Fox, of Pitt, 
and of Burke. It belongs not to uninspired man 
to prophecy ; and whoever allows his imagination 
to transport him over scenes of future years, 
and offers her representations as predictions of 
actual events, will, in nine cases out of ten, find 
himself very wide of the mark. Almost always 
are there secret biasses and unseen influences 
at work, which counteract or neutralize those 
more obvious causes upon which alone our calcu- 
lations are founded. In the present instance, 
however, Mr. Sadler was not so far wide of the 
mark as many glowing orators before him have 
been. We have not, it is true, yet seen the 
crown of England torn from the royal brow ; but 
we have seen what is but a very few degrees re- 
moved from that calamity. We have seen the 
sovereign, — the same popular sovereign by whose 
own personal and frank concession to the people 
the Reform Bill was carried, — we have seen this 
very sovereign insultingly denied the privilege of 
choosing his own confidential servants. We have 
seen the choice of the ministers of the crown for- 
cibly wrested from the monarch, and a cabinet 
forced upon him by an Irish adventurer, destitute 
alike of birth or fortune, of honorable fame, of the 
least particle of integrity, and of even the lowest 



256 LIFE OP MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

attribute of manhood, that of personal courage. 
By such an one have we seen the Royal preroga- 
tive forcibly seized upon, and the government of 
the first empire in the world, virtually assumed ! 
And after this, shall we say that Mr. Sadler, in the 
fervour of his eloquence, was carried to any very 
preposterous lengths, when he warned the Royal 
patron of the Reform Bill, that in the adoption 
of that measure, he signed the practical abdica- 
tion of his hereditary crown ? 

We shall add but one further remark before we 
close this chapter ; and than to a totally different 
part of the subject. 

Elevated as was the character of this speech, — 
a composition which no man can read with an 
unprejudiced mind without at once admitting its 
claim to the very highest order of merit, — it will 
doubtless occur to many, that the production of a 
splendid oration, or even of two or three such, 
will not of itself entitle their author to the rank 
of a statesman. Clear-sightedness in judgment, 
and decision in action, are of yet higher value 
than eloquence in the senate. Some of the great- 
est speeches, perhaps, that ever were delivered 
in the British Parliament, were delivered by 
Sheridan;— yet it would be a mere abuse of terms 
to call that brilliant, but unprincipled voluptuary, 
a statesman. Admitting this, we allude, here, 



THE REFORM BILL. 257 

briefly, to an occasion or two in which Mr. Sadler 
was called upon, in the private deliberations of 
his party, to assist in the decision of most impor- 
tant questions ; and in which his counsel, in 
neither case followed, — was such as has been 
since proved by the event, to have been pre-emi- 
nently that of a wise and sagacious mind. 

The first occasion arose upon the introduction 
of the Reform Bill. The question was, what 
should be the course adopted. The Conservative 
party, then thoroughly united by the common dan- 
ger, were universally indignant at the character of 
the scheme; but it was necessary to decide, in what 
way the proposition should be met. Mr. Sadler's 
counsel was that of a man of decision of character. 
Viewing the Bill as a rash, unconstitutional, and 
revolutionary measure, as involving a plain viola- 
tion of the previous pledges given, and as insidious- 
ly intended merely to excite a flame in the country, 
his vote was for an instant and public stigma to 
be set upon it, by the proposition for the first read- 
ing being indignantly negatived. This, in the 
then temper and strength of the party, could have 
been effected by a large majority. 

There is no difficulty, now, in discerning the 
practical wisdom, as well as straight-forwardness 
of this course. Neither party had then made any 
preparations for a dissolution ; nor was there any 



258 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

political excitement in the country. Had they 
been thus braved, the ministry must either have 
resigned, or dissolved Parliament. They would 
probably have adopted the latter course. An 
election at that moment, before the public mind 
had begun to ferment, would have gained them at 
the utmost, forty or fifty seats, and they would 
have met the new house with scarcely the narrow- 
est working majority. The result would have 
been, either their speedy retirement, or the enact- 
ment of a moderate measure of Reform, differing 
greatly from the reckless experiment under which 
we are now suffering. 

But this counsel was overruled by more tempo- 
rizing opinions. The opportunity was allowed to 
pass, never to return. The Bill was read a first 
time, and circulated through the country ; and its 
strange and sweeping propositions soon set men's 
minds in a ferment. Every market-place or pub- 
lic-house orator in the kingdom began to collect his 
admirers, and to prepare his resolutions, petition, 
and instructions to his representative. The mem- 
bers for populous places were beset by a storm of 
supplications and menaces, and one after another 
began to falter. The first reading, had a division 
been taken, would have been lost by 60 votes ; — 
the second, three weeks after, was carried by 302 
votes against 301. But the ministers had now 



THE REFORM BILL, 259 

gained their main object ; they had effectually ex- 
cited the popular mind ; and a dissolution, in 
such a state of things, was what they most ar- 
dently desired. Just at the moment best suited 
to their purpose, when the public fever was at its 
height, the opportunity they sought for was afford- 
ed them. On the 18th of April, just seven weeks 
after the first introduction of the measure, the 
opposition defeated one of its leading provisions 
by a narrow majority, and thus gave the Ministry 
the pretext for which they were waiting. The 
result was, the return of such a house of Com- 
mons as enabled the Whigs to carry any Bill they 
pleased. Thus, throughout the whole business, 
the opposition appeared to be literally playing 
into the hands of government ; and the effect was, 
- — that which under no other circumstances could 
have taken place, — the ultimate success of the 
very measure, which, when first brought in, not a 
single one of all its friends expected for a moment 
to be able to carry ! 

The second instance of the same decision of 
character, in the subject of this memoir, occurred 
when, in May, 1832, the administration of Lord 
Grey resigned, on the successful resistance of 
the Conservative party in the house of Lords 
to one of the main provisions in the Reform Bill, 
The Duke of Wellington was called to his sov- 

S 2 



260 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

ereign's side, and the party to which Mr. Sadler 
was attached, had once more an opportunity of 
resuming the reins of government. 

The counsel given by Mr. S. at this eventful 
crisis, was,— "an instant prorogation" Had this 
course been adopted, accompanied by a pledge 
from the sovereign, that an extensive measure 
of Reform should be frankly offered to par- 
liament, immediately on its reassembling, — the 
result would unquestionably have been, the cast- 
ing back the Whig party into the weakness from 
which they had emerged only a few months 
before. Their power lay in the then existing 
house of Commons. That once broken up, and 
scattered through the provinces, a government of 
power and energy would have had little to fear. 
A few weeks of repose would have calmed the 
public mind ; and parliament would have reas- 
sembled in the autumn with very different feel- 
ings from those with which it separated. 

That house of Commons contained a consider- 
able number of members whom the sudden emer- 
gency alone had so elevated. Many of these 
had no very definite principles or attachments, 
and their concurrence might have been ex- 
pected in any scheme, emanating from either 
party, which promised a satisfactory termination 
to this great controversy. Considerations such 



THE REFORM BILL. 261 

as these, with many others that might be added, 
rendered a prorogation, which would at once 
have secured a pause, and an interim for ne- 
gociation, the most clearly desirable. But by 
one of those singular " happenings" which men 
too generally ascribe to chance, a summons to a 
private consultation, addressed to Mr. Sadler by 
one of the leaders of his party, miscarried, and 
reached his hands more than two hours after the 
consultation had taken place. The decision then 
taken was in favour of a hesitating, doubtful course. 
The retreating party saw their advantage; rallied; 
threatened popular movements ; carried a strong 
resolution through the house of Commons ; and 
in the end, the greatest captain of the day again 
retreated before the dread, — not the fact, — of in- 
ternal discord, and the Whigs were placed in the 
singular position of being obliged to carry their 
own Bill, — which they had proposed merely as a 
means of exciting popular animosity against the 
Tories, and which they expected and intended 
the house of Lords greatly to modify, — they were 
obliged, we repeat, by the popular feeling which 
they had themselves raised, to carry this mea- 
sure, entire, through both houses ! 

Whether, had Mr. Sadler been present at the 
conference above alluded to, his ready eloquence 
and clear discrimination of the difficulties of the 



262 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

case, might have prevailed in favor of a bolder 
policy, it is of course impossible now to tell. 
But, on a retrospect of the whole of that vast 
and long-protracted struggle, the evil results of 
the hesitating and temporizing policy adopted, in 
both the crises described above, are so clear and 
indisputable, that it is impossible not to be at 
once impressed with the conviction, that the man 
who, in each case, at once counselled the bolder 
course, shewed himself, above all concerned in 
these transactions, the true and native-born states- 
man. 

The motion, in seconding which, Mr. Sadler 
made the speech we have recently described, 
having been carried, in spite of the opposition of 
the government, a dissolution of Parliament na- 
turally followed . The excitement then prevailing 
rendering the result of an election at Newark ex- 
tremely doubtful, and Mr. Sadler's parliamentary 
friends being desirous of placing his return to 
the next parliament beyond a doubt ; he was ad- 
vised, by the same noble friend who had origi- 
nally been the means of introducing him to the 
legislature, to become a candidate for Aldborough 
in Yorkshire ; a borough in which his Grace pos- 
sessed the natural influence of large property ; and 
for which Mr. S. continued to sit during the re- 



THE REFORM BILL. 263 

raainder of his parliamentary career. Without, 
however, any communication with him, and with- 
out even a visit to the place, he was nominated, 
at the same general election, for the city of 
Norwich, and, a poll taking place, as many as 
977 votes were recorded in his favor. Success, 
indeed, against two ministerial candidates who 
had personally canvassed the town for several 
days, and who expended a very large sum of 
money, was not anticipated. But the appearance 
of nearly a thousand electors of a single city at 
the hustings in his favor, unsolicited and unre- 
warded, was, certainly, a mark of public esteem, 
of which any man might reasonably have felt 
proud. 



CHAPTER X. 



SECOND MOTION FOR POOR LAWS IN IRELAND — WITH- 
DRAWMENT OF HIS MIND FROM POLITICS — MOTION ON 
THE STATE OF THE AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS. 

On the 29th of August, 1831, Mr. Sadler again 
brought under the notice of Parliament the great 
question of Poor Laws for Ireland. He adverted, in 
thus repeating his effort, to the evident progress 
which the question had made, both within the 
legislature, and throughout the country; as one 
indication of which, he could refer to numerous 
petitions praying for such an enactment. His 
own labours, both in the House of Commons and 
through the medium of the press, had mainly 
contributed to arouse this public feeling ; and his 
speech on this occasion was well calculated to 
sustain and increase it. It added several further 
arguments ; the weight of some of which was quite 



POOR LAWS FOR IRELAND. 265 

overwhelming. We shall quote two such pass- 
ages, upon which alone, had nothing else ever 
been urged, the whole issue might have been 
safely rested. One exhibits and establishes the 
lamentable necessity for legislative interference ; 
the other proves that a Poor Law mainly, and 
almost solely, is the remedy required. 

The need of a legal provision was thus irrefrag- 
ably proved : 

" I have hitherto adverted solely to that state 
of distress and suffering which is common to 
the poor of Ireland; but, Sir, this gloomy pic- 
ture must be yet darkened in order to convey 
a true idea of their real condition. Placed al- 
ways on the ver°;e of extreme indigence, the 
slightest reverse plunges them at once into the 
gulph. Reduce their food in quality they can- 
not, nor can they diminish its quantity without 
the most afflicting consequences. When, there- 
fore, they encounter those fluctuations in seasons, 
and failure in produce, which it is the common 
fate of all countries to sustain, the effect is ap- 
palling. Then recur those dreadful visitations, 
which at short intervals have constantly afflicted 
Ireland ; when habitual privation at once increases 
to famine, and the incipient fever, which the 
want and despondency of the people constantly 
produce, rises into pestilence, completing the 



266 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

catalogue of their sufferings, and filling their cup 
of misery to the very brim. I will not parti- 
cularize how frequently these dreadful calamities 
have, in late times, returned upon that unhappy 
people; nor calculate the devastations they have 
occasioned. On one of the many pestilences 
which visited the country during the last cen- 
tury, and which, like all the rest, succeeded to 
a scarcity, amounting in many districts to a 
famine, the mortality was enormous; it is stated 
by Rutty to have amounted to one-fifth of the 
whole population. What a scene of misery was 
then presented. One of the most dreadful of the 
plagues of Egypt repeated in unhappy Ireland. 
The destroying angel then smote that wretched 
people, and left a corpse in every cottage ! The 
last fever, that of 1817, (for the late mortality 
is not yet made known to us,) was by no means 
the most severe, and yet Drs. Baker and Cheyne 
state that at least one million four hundred thousand 
were afflicted by the pestilence, of whom between 
60 and 70,000 expired, exclusively of those who 
had already sunk under that state of want and 
dejection, which then, as in every other instance, 
preceded that frightful calamity, and indeed pro- 
duced it. Then was it that multitudes of the 
poor wretches found themselves destitute in their 
utmost need of all relief whatever, even men- 



POOR LAWS FOR IRELAND. 267 

dicancy failed them, — they carried infection with 
them, and were no longer received; many of 
them cleared and driven from their own native 
homes, were repulsed when they sought to take 
refuge in the towns, and had not where to lay 
their head; some of them indeed crept into fever 
huts which were suddenly erected on the sides 
of roads, and in open spaces, where the diseased, 
the dying, and the dead were crowded together, 
exhibiting a spectacle of human misery rarely 
witnessed in any country of the world. Where 
was that national charity which should have suc- 
coured the people at that awful moment ; which 
in England would have been a very present help 
in time of trouble ; and would have stood between 
the living and the dead, until the plague had 
been stayed, which spread far and wide, and de- 
solated the country? It was wanting. The dis- 
tant sympathies of the empire were indeed 
awakened ; at least all but those of the absentees ; 
but their relief came too late ; the wretched vic- 
tims had finally escaped from human suffering ! 
Nor can the apologists for the continuance of 
such a state of things make the miserable excuse 
that these visitations are unexpected. The ex- 
perience of centuries is full upon this awful sub- 
ject. They know that they have constantly oc- 
curred, and they are as sure that they will re- 



268 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

turn. And yet they oppose themselves as vehe- 
mently against a provision which it would be 
the first business, under similar circumstances, 
of every civilized state in the world to establish ! 

" But I need not draw the attention of the 
house to a fact to which the deepest considera- 
tion and the warmest sympathies of the country 
at large, are, at this moment, principally directed ; 
namely, the certainty and severity of these pe- 
riodical seasons of distress, under one of which 
Ireland is at present groaning. It is not on these 
that I ground my argument in favour of a legis- 
lative provision for the poor of Ireland ; these 
it might be contended could be otherwise alle- 
viated. On the contrary, it is that constant 
wretchedness which exists among them at all 
times, and which occasions these scenes of pecu- 
liar suffering, which, I contend, demands that 
provision. These are but occasional heavings 
of that misery which has constantly afflicted 
Ireland — the swelling of that dark abyss of suf- 
fering which never abates, over which a spirit 
of suffering and despair is perpetually brooding, 
and rousing the troublous element to renewed 
storms and agitations. 

11 But, Sir, the house may think that I am deal- 
ing with this important subject by figures of 
speech: I will therefore turn to figures of arith- 



POOR LAWS FOR IRELAND. 269 

metic, and from them I will demonstrate, beyond 
the possibility of a doubt or contradiction, the ac- 
curacy of the dark picture I have drawn of the 
miserable condition of the poor of Ireland : I 
will adduce facts — which through the understand- 
ing will make a deeper impression upon the heart, 
than the most pathetic appeal to the imagination, 
by whomsoever made, could possibly produce. 
I shall not, then, fatigue the attention of the 
house by pursuing a course which I might well 
take, and with much effect ; namely, verifying my 
general description by appealing to the unani- 
mous declarations of the most eminent political 
writers of that country ; or by quoting the most 
intelligent witnesses which have appeared before 
the various committees — appointed to examine 
and report on the distressed condition of Ireland ; 
or by referring to those numerous and able medical 
reports, which have traced to that condition those 
peculiar and fatal diseases from which it is never 
wholly free ; but I shall proceed to show, by the 
incontrovertible evidence of statistical facts, the 
terrible consequences of the unrelieved distress 
of Ireland. For this purpose I shall take the 
census of Ireland, and compare the enormous 
rate of mortality which it exhibits, with that of 
England and Wales. In the latter, I find that 
in the total number of inhabitants, whose ages 



270 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

were ascertained in the census of 1821, there 
were, under the age of 40 years, 8,060,004 per- 
sons; of the age of 40 and upwards, 2,469,667. In 
Ireland the number under 40, were 5,593,855 — 
what then was the number which ought to have 
been found above that age, had the condition of 
the people corresponded w T ith that of England? 
1,714,014. But, Sir, there were only 1,199,375 
remaining in existence: above half a million, 
therefore, must have been swept away by the 
cause to which I have been referring ; unrelieved 
distress ; or to use the emphatic phraseology of 
Irish political economists, cleared! Nor, Sir, does 
this comparison fully exhibit the existing differ- 
ence. Much of the population of England is 
concentrated into towns, where, from other causes 
than distress, an undue proportion of mortality 
prevails. Let us, therefore, for the purpose of 
more accurate comparison, ascertain the same 
proportions in Wales, where the town population 
is not relatively so numerous, and in Connaught ; 
both mountainous districts, both principally en- 
gaged in the healthiest of all industrious pursuits, 
agriculture ; but the latter the most thinly peopled 
part of Ireland, and therefore always the scene of 
the deepest distress. We shall then see more 
clearly, the fatal consequences resulting from the 
existing state of things in the latter country. 



POOR LAWS FOR IRELAND, 271 

There were in the disseminated population of 
Wales in 1821, 530,770 inhabitants under 40 
years of age, and 169,440 above that age. In 
Connaught there were at the same period 927,393 
under 40 ; what number ought to have been found 
above that age, had the physical condition of the 
Irish been equal to that of the Welsh ? 296,050, 
There were above 60 per cent short of that num- 
ber, namely, only 181,644. As compared with 
Wales then, for every surviving million in Con- 
naught above forty, 629,836 have been swept off 
by untimely death ; to say nothing of the havoc 
which disease consequent upon destitution has 
made in the earlier periods of life. Between six 
and seven, then, to every ten, thus untimely 
perish! Merciful God, can this be so? It is! 
What is the havoc of pestilence and war, com- 
pared with this aggregate of the victims of un- 
relieved poverty. And before this constant and 
silent devastation has done its final work, what 
suffering and sorrow does not this state of things 
imply ! " Few and evil are the days of the 
human pilgrimage," was the touching exclama- 
tion of an ancient patriarch ; but beyond the 
lot of mortality, to these poor Irish those few 
days are thus diminished, and their evils thus 
embittered." 

From the portraiture of these afflictive facts, 



272 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

Mr. Sadler proceeded, to inquire " What can be 
the causes of this afflicting state of things, in a 
country which forms a part of the richest empire 
upon earth, and where therefore those sufferings 
are heightened, and humanity itself insulted, by 
the unnatural contrasts perpetually exhibited?" 

" First, the inquiry presents itself, infinitely the 
most important in reference to the subject, whe- 
ther there is any natural cause of this continued 
poverty, to be found either in the country itself, or 
in the character of its inhabitants ? And here, at 
all events, no difference of opinion can possibly 
arise, and in answering this question I will again 
avail myself of the language of Bacon, on this 
subject ; who, in enumerating the natural advan- 
tages of Ireland, has not, I think, omitted any one 
source of national wealth with which a partial 
Providence can endow any country upon earth. 
" This island/' says he, " has so many dowries of 
nature, the fruitfulness of the soil, the excellency 
of the climate, the ports, the rivers, the quarries, 
the woods, the fisheries, and especially its race of 
valiant, hardy, and active men, that it is not easy 
to find such a conflux of commodities, if the hand 
of man did but join with the hand of nature." 

" The natural prolificness of Ireland is, how- 
ever, rarely disputed ; but its miseries are not 
unfrequently attributed to another cause, and it is 



POOR LAWS FOR IRELAND. 273 

said that the distresses of Ireland are chargeable 
to its surplus population. This, therefore, dic- 
tates the second important inquiry — whether ex- 
cessive numbers be the real cause of the gene- 
ral distress. The fact is notoriously otherwise. 
There is no one who has the slightest knowledge 
of the subject that is not perfectly aware of the 
utter fallacy, the extravagant folly of such a sup- 
position. Let those who, on the subject of the 
extreme poverty and degradation of Ireland, re- 
peat the cuckoo note of the economists, — * surplus 
population,' and suppose they have solved the 
fearful political enigma which the condition of Ire- 
land propounds,— -stand forth and say whether 
they do or do not know that the misery of the Irish, 
arising either from the nature and insufficiency of 
their food, their clothing, and their habitations ; 
from the dearths and famines, and the epidemics, 
which they periodically endured, more fatal often 
than the plague ; from the constant want of labour, 
and its inadequate remuneration, — were evils 
which existed, to a still greater degree, when the 
population was notoriously scanty, not a third nor 
a fourth of its present amount, and when the poli- 
tical economists of those days attributed these 
sufferings to a paucity of population, and busied 
themselves about the task of replenishing it ; — 
always busied, therefore, in attempts beyond their 



274 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

reach, and neglecting the obvious duties dictated 
alike by policy and humanity, and which it had 
been easy to perform. But, to attend to the present 
assumption, — so far from the increase of population 
having occasioned these evils, it has clearly miti- 
gated, and would with efficient institutions, have re- 
moved them. The amelioration of the condition of 
Ireland in all these respects is universally acknow- 
ledged ; still much remains to be accomplished, 
But to attribute effects in full operation centuries 
ago to alleged causes which have only recently 
had any existence, is a doctrine too paradoxical, 
one would have thought, even for the advocates of 
political economy. To place such absurd notions 
in a still clearer point of view ; — Ireland a century 
ago, having only about two millions of inhabitants, 
imported grain in considerable quantities ; still 
multitudes of her people were starving. This 
year, with at least quadruple that population, she 
will export, I should suppose, 18 or 20 millions of 
bushels of corn ; and this while the exports of cattle 
have enormously augmented; — and yet, multi- 
tudes of her people are still starving ! So much 
for the question of surplus population, as com- 
pared with surplus produce. 

" Again, Sir, the alleged minute division of the 
farms in Ireland as the cause of much of its 
distress, is an equally erroneous assumption. In 



POOR LAWS FOR IRELAND. 275 

proof of this, I will not advert to the condition 
of the provinces of Flanders, where, with about 
thrice the population on the same space, and 
with naturally a far worse soil, the cultivators, 
down to the day-labourer, are, or at least were to 
a late period, comfortable and prosperous, fur- 
nishing abundance to their own country, and 
a surplus of at least one-third of their produce 
for the supply of others — a most instructive 
lesson, I think, to this country ; I will simply 
allude to the state of Ireland in this respect, 
on which a most unaccountable delusion almost 
universally prevails. By adverting to the census, 
it will appear, that were the land of Ireland 
divided among the agricultural families, there 
would be at least from thirty to forty acres to 
each. But it is not so divided : on the con- 
trary, it is represented as one great cause of 
distress that much of it is held in small portions. 
Meantime, however, I will venture to assert, that in 
those parts of the country where the population 
is the most dense, or, in other words, where the 
property is the most divided, there is it the 
most valuable ; and there is found the greatest 
degree of peace, comfort, and prosperity. The 
local condition of Ireland at this moment, fully 
warrants my assertion, which is corroborated by 
the most intelligent witnesses which have ap- 

t 2 



276 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

peared before the different parliamentary commit- 
tees appointed to examine the state of that country. 
" But, Sir, the pretence that Ireland is too 
densely peopled, in reference to either its fertility 
or extent, is almost entirely abandoned, and 
another convenient reason is alleged for the dis- 
tress and poverty of Ireland, namely, the sup- 
posed indolence and improvidence of the Irish 
character, — a cause not one whit less erroneous 
than the preceding ones, and one which adds 
insult to the injury inflicted upon that country. 
That they do not labour when it is impossible 
for them to obtain work, nor save when ex- 
tortion leaves them no means of accumulation, 
I do not mean to dispute; and that these are 
the reasons for these imputations upon them, I 
have the authority of Sir John Davis for as- 
serting. But every writer upon that country, 
and all the evidences that have been called 
before your committees in reference to its con- 
dition, have been unanimous in describing them 
as most anxious to obtain work, and as grateful 
for it when afforded them. Read, for instance, 
Mr. Griffith's recent report on the roads in the 
southern districts of Ireland, and you will find 
him pourtraying the Irish character in these 
respects in a different manner. He not only 
describes the industry of the Irish labourers 



POOR LAWS FOR IRELAND. 277 

when employed, but their extraordinary care and 
frugality ; he depicts them as saving all their wages, 
and erecting by these gains, comfortable cottages, 
purchasing implements of husbandry and cattle, 
and becoming all at once, as it were, prosperous 
and happy. But, Sir, had we no evidence in 
disproof of these constantly repeated accusa- 
tions but that of our own senses, I think few 
of us could fail to be convinced of their fal- 
lacy. For it is notorious, that, either in this 
country, or in the new world, wherever labour 
is to be obtained, no matter how hard or re- 
volting, there are the Irish. Look at them 
in this the most laborious season of the year. 
Thousands of them annually traverse the breadth 
of both islands, and cross the sea that separates 
them, in search of a few weeks' employment, 
at which, when obtained, they work like slaves, 
while they live like ascetics. And then, resisting 
every temptation, some of which, I fear, would 
be too much for their accusers, they carry 
home, almost entire, their hard earnings in 
their tattered garments, — I wish I could say, 
an offering to lay on the humble altar of do- 
mestic enjoyment, — but, on the contrary, a means 
wherewith to pay those extortionate rents which 
are demanded for the wretched cabin, raised by 
themselves, which affords them shelter, and the 



278 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

narrow plot which furnishes them with their 
scanty food. Thus conducting themselves, they 
are nevertheless accused of indolence and im- 
providence; and while deprived of labour at 
home, and thus eagerly searching for it else- 
where, the economists exclaim, in the language, 
and with the feelings of an oppressor of an- 
cient times, — Ye are idle! Ye are idle! 

" It is, therefore, neither to Providence, nor 
to the country itself, nor to the number of its 
inhabitants, nor to their character and dispo- 
sition, that the distress of Ireland is attribut- 
able. But it is to a want of provision for the 
poor, and to that evident and inveterate evil, 
absenteeism, with those exactions, clearings, and 
drivings, which it occasions ; that want of labour 
and lowness of wages, which also spring from 
the same cause, and which aggravate the evil 
to which they are thus exposed; it is to these 
causes, and especially to the last, that the 
evils long endured by that unhappy country, 
are clearly chargeable. And it is only by giv- 
ing to it a system long ago established in 
England, and to which, notwithstanding all de- 
clamation to the contrary, the great superiority 
in the general condition of the lower classes is 
mainly owing, that these deep and inveterate 
evils can alone be mitigated and removed." 



POOR LAWS FOR IRELAND. 279 

The strength of the case now began to make 
itself felt. If not in the division, assuredly in the 
debate, " the ayes had it." As many as twelve dif- 
ferent members of the House of Commons spoke in 
support of Mr. Sadler's motion. It was opposed 
only by three or four ; all of whom were connected 
with the government, and all of whom admitted that 
the question could not much longer be postponed. 
Lord Althorp, on the part of the ministry, pre- 
ferred moving the previous question to a more 
direct opposition ; and even in that moderated 
shape, the negative was only carried by a ma- 
jority of twelve — fifty-two voting for Mr. Sadler's 
motion, and sixty-four for the previous question. 
The Times newspaper, too, which had spoken dis- 
paragingly of Mr. Sadler's effort of the preceding 
year, now remarked, that " his speech was able 
"and eloquent; nor are we among those who 
" consider it a defect, that he treated the subject 
"broadly." "Mr. Stanley told the simple truth 
"when he said, that the necessity of Poor Laws 
"had become so much a matter of general con- 
" viction, that no government could much longer 
"oppose them." To which we must be allowed 
to add, that the chief cause of that " general 
conviction " must be sought for in the labors, both 
in parliament and by the press, — of Mr. Sadler 
himself. 



280 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

It was about this period that a considerable 
change took place in the position and estimation 
of Mr. Sadler in the House of Commons, and in 
political society generally. He had originally 
entered that house for a political purpose. The 
degree of success which attended his first ef- 
fort was such, as to encourage high expectations 
among the party to which he attached himself. 
Shortly after arose the Reform Bill agitation, 
and he was called, by his associates, into the very 
front rank, and selected to second General Gas- 
coigne's motion, upon which issue was joined, and 
a dissolution rendered necessary. That speech 
fully sustained his fame ; and by a second, in the 
next parliament, he lost no rank or estimation ; 
but with these efforts may be said to have ended 
his party life. Although interested and engaged 
for a short period in these contests, his zeal and 
energy quickly flagged. The accustomed " cur- 
rent of his soul " resumed its force. His mind, 
drawn away for awhile, soon relapsed into its 
wonted pursuits and engagements. For more than 
twenty years the chief employment of his leisure 
hours had been, the study of the condition, wants, 
and miseries, of the labouring poor ; and his fa- 
vourite object had been, to devise means for the 
removal of those miseries, and the general ame- 
lioration of the condition of the working classes. 



THE REFORM BILL. 281 

Called off, for a short period, from these pur- 
suits, his mind felt tasked, and ill at ease ; and 
soon the burden became insupportable, and he 
abandoned himself to his long- accustomed and 
favorite avocations. The House of Commons con- 
tinued, week by week, and month by month, 
to employ itself " in committee," over the various 
clauses of the Reform Bill ; but Mr. Sadler's in- 
terest in the question visibly abated, and his mind 
reverted to its accustomed course of thought. To 
his party, in skirmishing debate, he proved of little 
advantage ; not that his talents were unable to be 
turned to such a purpose ; but because his whole 
soul was absorbed in other pursuits. Rapidly, 
therefore, his position in the house changed. A 
degree of disappointment naturally arose in some 
quarters ; the mere politicians, or political econo- 
mists, or men of fashion, voted him more than ever 
" a bore ; " but the country at large soon began to 
comprehend his motives and to appreciate his cha- 
racter ; and if he lost rank as a party leader ; he 
gained it as a pure and simple-hearted philan- 
thropist, 

The change of which we are speaking may be 
dated from the autumn of 1831 ; but we may 
advance, for a moment, a little, and exhibit what 
may be considered the close of his political career, 
in the last speech made by him on the Reform 



282 LIFE OP MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

Bill ; which he delivered on the 2nd of February, 
1832. We are not aware that, after this period, 
he opened his lips in Parliament on political af- 
fairs; and in this, his last deprecation of that 
great change, it will be observed that his chief 
ground of objection consists in the great public 
wrong inflicted on the working classes. 

" I shall certainly make a few observations 
upon what has fallen from the noble Lord oppo- 
site, notwithstanding the lateness of the hour and 
the general wish for a division. The noble Lord 
has obviously wandered from the immediate ques- 
tion before the House, — that of the amendment, — 
nor shall I therefore strictly confine myself to it. 
Among other things, the noble Lord has stated, 
with apparent complacency, that the fixed amount 
of the qualification will, in consequence of the 
difference in value of houses in large and small 
towns, vary the franchise, and obviate the objec- 
tions previously urged as to the apparent uni- 
formity of the proposed qualification; but I would 
remind the noble Lord that there is one uniformity 
which still remains, and one of a most forbidding 
and insulting nature, namely, a uniformity of dis- 
franchisement as regards the lower and most in- 
dustrious classes in every part of the United 
Kingdom ; the vast proportion of whom reside in 
houses beneath the standard arbitrarily fixed upon 



THE REFORM BILL. 



by the noble Lord. I have not heard from the 
framers of this measure any very accurate calcu- 
lation as to the proportion of the community that 
will be intrusted with the franchise under the Bill, 
or of that immense majority to whom it will 
refuse that privilege ; but I believe, that at least 
twenty millions of the people of the kingdom 
will be left without any representation what- 
ever ; and that at a time when the principle of 
virtual representation is stigmatised as little better 
than none, and is to be superseded by a measure 
professedly liberal ! 

" At present, I believe, that in the greater part of 
one hundred towns, some of them of considerable 
magnitude and importance, every householder 
above the condition of pauperism has his vote ; 
and consequently the humbler ranks of society, 
being always the most numerous, have, as they 
ought to have under any fair and permanent 
system of representation, their influence in this 
House. It is true that that class are, as " pot- 
wallopers," or under one description or other, the 
subject of constant ridicule and insult with many 
honourable members : even to-night the noble 
Lord has very pointedly alluded to their subser- 
viency and corruption. But I think that they 
often exercise their franchises as honestly and 
independently, and are quite as little influenced 



284 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

by corrupt and selfish motives, as are many 
honourable members of this House, or indeed as 
are any rank of society, however elevated. And 
who and what are the class that this measure, 
which was to give such universal satisfaction, and 
which we are assured is to be permanent, pro- 
poses virtually and actually to disfranchise for 
ever ? Why, the very men who have created all 
the capital of the country, — who give to that 
capital all its value,— -who sustain a vast propor- 
tion of the burthens of the State, — and who, in 
the hour of danger, stand forth as the defenders of 
the country, and save its honour and existence at 
the expence of their valour and their blood, — 
the men who have created those very branches 
of industry, and have raised from comparative 
insignificance those very places, which it is pro- 
posed now to enfranchise, — but who are not only 
to be utterly excluded, under the present Bill, 
from all political influence in any such industrious 
community, but are to have their political exist- 
ence annihilated everywhere else : in a word, the 
vast and overwhelming majority of the inhabitants 
of our European empire, who are henceforth, 
therefore, to be regarded as so many political ser- 
viles and slaves. At a time when the main rea- 
son for extending the franchise is to give direct 
representation to the great interests which have 



THE REFORM BILL. 285 

latterly grown up among us, and therefore to con- 
fer the franchise upon certain large towns, a dis- 
tinction is to be established in those very places 
upon no imaginable grounds, whether of a moral, 
social, or political nature ; but one which will ope- 
rate as an injury, and be felt as an insult, by the 
industrious part of the people thus excluded, and 
thereby lay the foundation of perpetual feuds and 
discontents. The noble Lord has, indeed, in one of 
his opening speeches, exulted in the idea of how 
few voters there will be found in certain great fac- 
tories. I will venture to state to the noble Lord, that 
the circumstance is no true ground of satisfaction or 
security ; and I think that, if the noble Lord better 
knew the course which the great manufactures 
of this country have taken of late years, he could 
not have so argued. The operatives, for instance, 
in the large factories to which I now allude, and 
in which the noble Lord says there will be so 
few voters, would, under the domestic system 
which has prevailed, or under a less extensive 
monopoly of business, many of them be them- 
selves little manufacturers, occupying, in all 
probability, £10 houses, and advancing in a 
course of honest industry and unremitting atten- 
tion ; to a state of independence and comparative 
affluence ; but now, while a commercial policy 
which, however inevitable, is in some important 



286 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

respects to be much deplored, has prostrated the 
once independent operative manufacturer, and 
sent him to the factory for employment, the pre- 
sent political policy is to deprive him of all influ- 
ence, and complete his degradation. Nor can 
it be said with truth, that the interests of the 
great employer and the employed are always 
seen and felt to be identical ; on the contrary, 
both not unfrequently act under a directly dif- 
ferent view and impression ; nor will any one 
dare to assert, who is conversant with both, that 
the former, respectable and well-informed as they 
doubtless are, monopolize the entire intellect or 
intelligence of the great manufacturing interests. 
The more honourable members become acquainted 
with the operatives of England — with that class 
whom this measure will leave, prospectively, 
wholly unrepresented everywhere — the less, I 
can assure them, will they doubt their knowledge 
either of their own interests or of those of the 
community at large. It frequently happens, how- 
ever, that different views are taken as to the 
respective interests of these classes on many 
important questions, some of which are even now 
before the House ; but the noble Lord's bill, 
which professes adequately to represent those 
interests, will leave no political influence or 
power whatever to the great body of the manu- 



THE REFORM BILL. 287 

facturers. Nor does it merely give an injurious 
monopoly of power to one division of society, 
highly respectable indeed as it is; but it will 
establish a most capricious, imaginary, and in- 
sulting distinction regarding the very class it 
comprehends within its own scheme. For ex- 
ample, of two men in the same pursuit, and with 
precisely the same means, the one being the 
father of a family, and who will therefore hus- 
band his resources in order to afford his children 
a decent education, will often be found in a house 
which will not entitle him to a vote ; while the 
other, free from those expenses, can afford to live 
in a better situation, and will therefore have that 
privilege. Thus the man most interested in the 
national welfare, and who has given hostages to 
fortune and futurity, will have no voice, and he 
who is free from all the nearer ties of kindred 
and of country, will possess it. This kind of dis- 
tinction, and a thousand others which will perpe- 
tually arise, totally inexplicable on any just prin- 
ciples of reason, will be equally irreconcileable 
with any just feelings in practice ; and will, if 
introduced, light up the torch of perpetual discord 
in every crowded community. 

" The noble Lord has, in reference to unanswer- 
able objections which have been urged against the 
impracticability and expense of his plan, asked 



288 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

whether those £10 renters or owners, who may be 
accidently deprived of the franchise, will, without 
such remedies, be kept quiet? I ask the noble 
Lord how the £9, £8, or £7 renters, many of them 
of precisely the same class with some of the former, 
are to be "kept quiet" when they find them- 
selves, in these liberal days, excluded from the 
franchise ? For myself, I think, if alteration is to 
be made, a mixed system should be adopted in 
preference to the one proposed. I revere that 
constitution under which I have been born, and 
on the very grounds which I have now imperfectly 
stated, but which the best and most liberal writers 
as well as the firmest friends of liberty, have so 
often triumphantly put forth — I mean such men 
as Paley, as Sydney, and many others — namely, 
as effecting, by its diversified qualifications, a 
direct system of representation to every class 
among us above the rank of pauperism, and a 
virtual representation of the whole. I wish, in- 
deed, to preserve that principle with those im- 
provements in the system of which it is suscepti- 
ble, so as to promote and secure the great national 
interests; but it seems to me, that while the 
framers of the present measure have taken away 
the influence which masses of property have long, 
and from the first possessed, they see at the same 
time that they cannot redress the balance of the 



THE REFORM BILL. 289 

representative system which they have thus dis- 
turbed, without also sacrificing the ancient politi- 
cal rights of the humbler classes wherever they 
are found. These have always been my views, 
and I have expressed them before in this House ; 
and I will venture to tell the noble Lords opposite, 
that if they should carry their arbitrary measure, 
they will find my prophecy realized concerning it ; 
— that a system, professedly liberal, which thus 
prospectively annihilates the ancient rights of 
Englishmen in every place where they have been 
so long exercised and so deeply cherished ; con- 
ferring by the new scheme no equivalent ones in 
any part of the empire, will, instead of being a 
permanent settlement, expose, and in no long- 
time, this, their new constitution, together with 
its authors, to the merited derision of the great 
mass of the British people." 

We have marked two or three passages in the 
above by italic type ; with reference to their 
clearly prophetic character. The exact fulfilment 
of their every circumstance, in the recent and 
continued movements of the Chartists, seems to 
us to present an instance of foresight, on the one 
side, and of striking accomplishment on the other, 
which stamps the character of the speaker as a 
statesman of the highest order. 



290 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

But, as we have already observed, — the period 
over which we are now passing, is to be chiefly 
noted for the change which was rapidly and per- 
ceptibly taking place, in the general drift and 
tenor of Mr. Sadler's thoughts. From this time 
forward, the great question of the condition of 
the labouring poor, resumed its accustomed sway 
over his mind, and gave full occupation to his time. 
Six weeks had scarcely elapsed from his motion 
on Irish Poor Laws, when he brought before the 
House of Commons (on the 11th of Oct. 1831.) a 
subject of at least equal extent and importance; — 
namely, the grievances and wants of the English 
agricultural labourers. He obtained leave to bring- 
in his Bill, but the prorogation which almost im- 
mediately took place, necessarily stopped its fur- 
ther progress ; and in the following session the 
case of the factory-children burdened him with 
such absorbing occupation, as to preclude the 
possibility of resuming his former task. 

The speech in which Mr. Sadler laid the 
wrongs of the agricultural poor before Parlia- 
ment, is in his accustomed strain. It first esta- 
blishes, by a long train of unquestionable facts, 
a fearful case of neglect and oppression ; and 
then it proposes a practical remedy. If any one 
wished, at a single sitting, to understand dis- 
tinctly the difference between the system of the 



CASE OP THE AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS. 291 

Political Economists, and that of Mr. Sadler, 
he could not do better than to read, consecu- 
tively, the speech of Lord Althorp, on proposing 
the New Poor Law ; and that of Mr. Sadler to 
which we are at present referring. This com- 
parison, too, would be a most favourable one for 
the Economists; for the noble Lord's unques- 
tionable kindness of heart necessarily casts a 
warmth and mellowness of tint over the icy 
system of Malthus which it seldom receives. 
But after all, the pleading is that of wealth 
against poverty ; while every word that ever fell 
from Mr. Sadler's lips, every thought that ever 
animated his soul, bore an exactly opposite ten- 
dency and direction. 

We should be glad if our limits permitted us 
to insert the speech now before us unabridged ; 
for it contains facts and arguments which are as 
much needed now, as they were at the moment 
of its delivery. That, however, is impossible ; 
and we must merely select two or three of its 
most important passages. 

Mr. Sadler begins by a natural reference to 
the then recent troubles among the agriculturists ; 
troubles which, he was fully entitled to assume, 
shewed the existence of some deep-seated evil. 
The enquiry, then, naturally follows ; To what 
mischiefs or grievances may these wide-spread 

u 2 



292 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

discontents be traced. And thus does he answer 
this enquiry :— 

" We live, Sir, in a period of great changes ; 
but none of them, whether completed or in pro- 
gress, at all equal in any thing but name, the 
revolution which has taken place in the state and 
condition of our agricultural poor, in many parts 
of the country, arid which has hardly ' left a 
wreck behind' of all their former prosperity and 
happiness. Long were they placed in an envi- 
able situation, compared with those of any other 
country. From them our moralists drew their 
proofs of the equal dispensations of human hap- 
piness — our poets j their loveliest pictures of sim- 
ple and unalloyed pleasures — our patriots, their 
best hopes as to the future destinies of the coun- 
try ; while their humble abodes, the cottages of 
England, surrounded by the triumphs of their 
industry, were as distinguished by their beauty, 
as were their inmates for their cheerfulness and 
contentment. Hope still brightened this humble 
but happy condition, and the prospect of ad- 
vancement in life was ever open to the peasant's 
persevering industry, and to those dearer to him 
than himself, his children ; whom his exulting 
heart often beheld advancing to the very sum- 
mits of society, to which they added dignity — 
the dignity of virtue and merit. Yes, Sir, I need 



CASE OF THE AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS. 293 

not remind the House, how many of those who 
have rendered immortal honour to their country — 
how many of your greatest merchants — how 
many laurelled and mitred heads, have sprung 
from the cottage. Such then, was the situation 
of this class; what is it at present? The " bold 
peasantry" of England, their country's pride, 
are, generally speaking, now extinct! 

" An ignorant and selfish system of spurious 
political economy, dictating first to the agricul- 
tural interest, has at length triumphed. I shall 
attend to some of its dicta hereafter ; meantime 
let me now contrast the present condition to 
which the agricultural poor have been reduced, 
with that which I have described as enjoyed by 
them till its heartless dogmas prevailed. The 
system of demolition and monopoly, which has, 
in the emphatic language of the inspired volume, 
" laid house to house, and field to field, that they 
may stand alone in the earth," has left no place 
for the poor ; none for the little cultivator ; none 
for the peasant's cow ; no not enough in one case 
in ten, for a garden. The best of the cottages 
have been demolished — " spurned indignant from 
the green," as the loveliest of the poets of poverty, 
Goldsmith, sings. The lonely and naked hut 
into which they are now thrust, and for which is 
exacted an exorbitant rent, is destitute, both with- 



294 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

out and within, of all that formerly distinguished 
their humble abodes ; is often unfit to stable even 
quadrupeds, and is frequently so crowded by dif- 
ferent families, as to set not comfort merely, 
but decency at defiance, and render morality 
itself an impossible virtue. Thither, then, the un- 
happy parent, when employed, carries his wages, 
which, with the exception of a few short weeks 
in the year, are utterly inadequate to supply the 
necessities of a craving family. Wages, did I 
say ? Parish pay ! He is, perhaps sold by auc- 
tion, as is the case in certain parishes, and there- 
fore reduced to the condition of the slave, or 
driven to the workhouse, where he is often treated 
worse than a felon. Labour, meant to degrade 
and insult him, is often prescribed to him ; or, 
wholly unemployed, he sits brooding over his 
miserable fate ; winter labour, whether for him- 
self or his wife and children, having been long 
since taken away. Perpetually insulted by false 
and heartless accusations, — for being a pauper, 
when his accusers have compelled him to become 
such, — for being idle, when his work has been 
taken from him, — for improvidence, when he can 
hardly exist, — he feels these insults barbed by 
past recollection. 

" The very sympathies of his nature become re- 
versed; those who would once have constituted 



CASE OF THE AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS. 295 

his comforts and pleasures, his ragged and half- 
starved offspring, (who cannot stray a pace from 
his hovel without becoming trespassers and 
being severely treated as such,) and their wretch- 
ed mother, increase his misery. He escapes, 
perhaps, from the scene of his distress, and at- 
tempts to lose the recollection of it and of himself, 
in dissolute and dangerous courses. Meantime, 
had some peculiar calamity, some inscrutable visi- 
tation of Providence reduced him to this condi- 
tion, perhaps he might have sustained it with 
composure of spirit. But he knows otherwise. 
He can trace his sufferings and degradation to 
their true source. He knows by whom they have 
been inflicted upon him, and he feels what would 
be their cure, and can calculate how little it 
would cost others, to make him and his supremely 
happy. Meantime, the authors of his sufferings 
are those that insult him with demanding that 
he should be quiet and grateful, — that he should 
be contented and cheerful under them ! " They 
that have wasted him, require mirth ! " Not only 
are the falsest accusations levelled at him, but 
even the feelings common to nature are imputed 
to him as an offence ; his marriage was a crime ; 
his children are so many living nuisances ; himself 
is pronounced 'redundant;' and, after having been 
despoiled of every advantage he once possessed, 



296 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

he is kindly recommended as his best, and indeed 
only course, to transport himself for life, for 
the good of his oppressors, and to die unpitied 
and unknown in some distant wilderness ! And 
this, Sir, is the condition at the present moment 
of thousands — of tens of thousands — of the la- 
bouring poor." 

Mr. S. then stops for a few moments, to demo- 
lish, in passing, some of the inventions of the 
Economists ; — such as, " that the miseries of the 
labourers arose from their improvident marriages :" 
The fact being, — as he shewed from the popula- 
tion-returns,— that in those counties particularly 
denoted as the scenes of agricultural distress, the 
marriages were fewer, than in those in which no 
such distress appeared ! # 

Passing on, next, to the standing argument 
with the Economists, — the 6C redundancy of the 
population,"— he thus shews the prodigious folly 
of the assumption : 

" I will now proceed to prove, and from the 
pages of the very report which has given its au- 
thority to so injurious an error, that, notwith- 
standing the discouragements to which labour has 
been subjected in this country, our rural popula- 
tion is not, even yet, redundant; and, in doing so^ 

* See Appendix (D.) 



CASE OF THE AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS. 297 

I will confine myself to the simple facts published 
in this report, and those will abundantly suffice 
to negative the conclusion at which the committee 
unhappily arrived. We find it there stated, that 
even as early as April, all the healthy labourers 
are employed ; that April is a very busy time ; 
and, that from thence to the termination of the 
harvest, the demand for labour increases, needs 
not to be mentioned ; so much so, indeed, that on 
turning to the agricultural surveys, I find, that in 
the counties where so much is said of the redun- 
dancy of the labourers, even the hay-harvest could 
not be got in by the resident population without 
foreign assistance. But to come to the main 
question, and to determine it on the authority of 
the individual whom the committee very properly 
place at the head of their list of witnesses, — I 
mean Mr. M'Adam. To the first question put to 
him, he replies, that he has had very considerable 
experience in hiring labour in the country. The 
second query is this : — ' Have you found in ge- 
neral, that it is very easy to obtain labourers?' 
The answer is, — ' Generally speaking, I have, ex- 
cepting during the harvest-months ; we then find 
a great scarcity of workmen.' And yet, Sir, the 
committee talk about the redundancy of agricul- 
tural labourers ! Nor is this all. The agricul- 
tural labourers are not only not redundant ; they 



LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

are too few ! Were it not for a large accession of 
workmen at the period of the harvest, much of the 
produce of the land would never be secured. In 
addition to the influx of hands from towns and 
manufacturing districts, an immense assistance is 
also demanded annually from Ireland, or the har- 
vests of England could neither be reaped nor 
gathered in. I need not, I presume, bring proofs 
of this fact, otherwise they are easily obtained. 
I have myself consulted some of the managers of 
our great steam-boat companies, and I find from 
them that there annually leave Ireland for the 
harvest-fields of Great Britain, a number which I 
cannot calculate at less than the entire male adult 
population employed as agricultural workmen in 
some five or six of our English counties, though 
they are dispersed, it is true, through the whole of 
our corn-districts. Now, if your fields could not 
be reaped, I need not say they would never be 
sown. It is, therefore, idle, worse than idle, for 
political economists, whether in this house or out 
of it, to rant about the redundancy of labour. It 
is not merely abhorrent to humanity, but to rea- 
son — it is an insult to truth — an outrage upon 
common sense. Does such an infatuated feeling 
prevail in any other case whatever? Does the 
sportsman deem his horses and his dogs redundant 
in the summer months — the general call his sol- 



CASE OF THE AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS. 299 

diers superfluous while in their winter quarters ? 
In the very commonest concerns of life, is any 
such delusion witnessed ? But when we come to 
talk of our labourers, the political economist de- 
termines whether they are in excess or otherwise, 
not by the demand for them in the season of the 
year when they are essentially necessary, but in 
that, in which he imagines he can dispense with 
them altogether — a method of computation which 
would make out a case against them, as clearly as 
at present, were the population of the country re- 
duced to a tenth of its present number ! Nothing, 
then, can be more absurd and unjust than the 
present method of computing the alleged surplus 
of agricultural labourers. Under the best possible 
system, their labour will be less pressingly de- 
manded in the winter than in the spring and har- 
vest months. Nor is it, when duly considered, one 
of the least strikingly benevolent ordinations in 
nature, — that the hardest and most essential ope- 
rations of husbandry have to be performed in the 
finest periods of the year, when the days are the 
most protracted, and the weather the most tem- 
perate. Hence, at all times, in every country, 
and under whatever system of cultivation, the an- 
cient maxim will be found applicable, hyems 
ignava colono. In the natural order of things, 
other industrious occupations have been reserved 



800 LIFE OP MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

for this comparatively inactive and severe season, 
and have occupied it : of these, however, the in- 
dustrious cottagers of England have been, in a 
great measure, bereft, by causes over which they 
had no control ; and this circumstance it is, that 
among many others, has occasioned much of the 
distress under which they labour, and has fur- 
nished the apology for these perpetual declama- 
tions as to their redundancy. Still, however, we 
cannot, in conformity with the new theory, anni- 
hilate them when we do not want their labour, 
because we cannot revive and multiply them when 
we do ; and nature has not indulged us with a 
human genus that can hybernate, or one which, 
after having secured the fruits of their industry, 
we can safely destroy when we have obtained its 
honey, as we once did their prototype, the bee. 
If, in short, we cannot gather in the kindly fruits of 
the earth, nor in due time enjoy them, without our 
full agricultural force ; then, Sir, notwithstanding 
all a selfish and stolid theory may repeat, the la- 
bourer, whom our present system has deprived of 
all his comforts, and degraded so deeply in his 
character and feelings, is, at the very season we 
have doomed him to idleness and want, and would 
bid him, if we could, to be gone, as necessary to 
us as our daily bread." 

From thus annihilating fictitious causes, he next 



CASE OF THE AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS. 301 

proceeds to exhibit the real ones, by which the 
almost intolerable miseries of the poor have been 
gradually brought about. 

"In tracing, then, the causes which have led 
to the present degradation of the labourers in 
husbandry, I must, however it may startle the 
prejudices of some, commence with the large 
farming system. Reason, it might have been 
supposed, would have dictated another course — 
that, as the population of the country increased, 
the number of farmers should have augmented ; 
or, as old Hobbes said, that " they should live 
closer and cultivate better." But political eco- 
nomy, falsely so called, advised directly to the 
contrary ; and, appealing, as it ever does, to 
human selfishness, prevailed. In this, however, 
as in most other cases, its principles have been 
falsified by experience, and its prophecies have 
totally failed. The land has become less pro- 
ductive in large divisions, as it ever does ; less 
capital has been applied to it, for labour is capital. 
A less surplus produce has been obtained for 
the public, for this is determined by the fact, that 
a smaller rent is received by the landlord, and 
that less punctually and certainly; and, after all, 
the expense of keeping up a few additional farm- 
houses has been far more than counterbalanced by 
the great addition to the poor-rates, which the 



302 . LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

farmer has taken care should at length fall upon 
the landlord. On this highly important and inte- 
resting topic, I had collected a considerable mass of 
statistical proofs ; but I cannot now presume even 
to enumerate them. I will, however, state, that the 
experience of every agricultural country is full 
and clear upon this point. In Flanders, the size 
of the farms has been consequently long limited 
by law ; but, as one of its most intelligent writers 
observes, the experience of the superiority of the 
minuter system has had the effect of still further 
curtailing their size, and multiplying their number. 
In Italy, where the state of cultivation is pre- 
sented in such wide extremes, an able practical 
agriculturist of our own country, comes to this 
conclusion, that every state in the Peninsula is 
productive or otherwise, in proportion to the num- 
ber of farmers on a given space of land, of equal 
quality. In France, such also is precisely the 
fact, as I can confidently assert, having most ac- 
curately examined the Cadastre, for that purpose. 
The fact is beginning also to be seen in England, 
and will be demonstrated more clearly every day, 
even by pecuniary considerations alone. I am not 
arguing that farms here should be limited by law ; 
or that they should all be reduced to one, and that 
a small extent : far otherwise. What I would 
contend for, is, the superiority of that modern and 



CASE OF THE AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS. SOS 

mixed system of husbandry, which leaves the de- 
serving peasantry of the country the opportunities 
and hopes of ultimate advancement; and this I 
believe to be far the most profitable state. That 
it is the happier one, as regards the great bulk of 
the people, not a doubt can exist. Hence, Paley 
classes among the deeds of benevolence, the 
split t ing of farms. 

" But, Sir, what I have to do with the question 
at present, is, to show that the system c of en- 
grossing great farms,' to use Bacon's expression, 
has been among the first of a series of connected 
causes which have led to the present degradation 
of our labouring poor. I shall not advert to past 
times, when the same practice is described by our 
authentic historians as having led to such fatal con- 
sequences ; the present are sufficient for my pur- 
pose. No one can take up the work of any agri- 
cultural theorist, if published some time ago, but 
he will find the most pressing recommendations 
to the land-owners to increase the size of their 
farms, and the most tempting calculations to in- 
duce them so to do. Meantime, there was an 
equal unanimity as to the advantage of such a 
course, even to the little cultivators themselves ; 
they were to do abundantly better as labourers 
than as small farmers. They valued indeed their 
independent state ; they were reluctant — agonized 



304 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

I may say, in every instance, at the thought of 
being driven from their holdings, but they were 
compelled to submit. The village Ahabs seized 
upon the vineyards of their industry, and their 
destruction was complete." 

From the system of engrossing farms, he ad- 
vances, next, to another wrong done to the poor, 
the taking from them their commons. 

" The numerous class of little cultivators, or, as 
they might be called, independent or free labour- 
ers, being thus extinguished, let us trace their 
condition into that class whose numbers they 
greatly augmented — the dependent or servile la- 
bourers, as I fear they may be too justly deno- 
minated. Two ranks only existing, let us see 
next how these labourers have been treated, to 
whom such large and consoling promises had been 
held forth. Why, Sir, still the plea of public im- 
provement was advanced, — improvement of which 
they were again to be the sole victims : I now 
allude to the manner in which the inclosures of 
the commons and wastes of the country were car- 
ried into effect, which comprised, within a com- 
paratively short period of time, so large a part of 
the entire surface of the kingdom. T am not 
about to contend that inclosures should not have 
taken place ; on the contrary, I would have had 
them become universally prevalent ; one General 



CASE OF THE AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS. 305 

Inclosure Act, as was often urged, ought to have 
been passed for that purpose : then, as it was often 
said, the ancient and sacred rights of the poor 
labourers would have been secured, and just re- 
servations made for them in mortmain, placed 
under the management of every parish — the only 
way of preserving their rights and privileges as a 
class ; but, alas, all such inclosures were made 
by the wealthy- and interested parties, and their 
humbler rights, equally recognised by justice and 
sound policy, were totally disregarded. I contend 
that the poor cottagers and labourers had an 
equitable, if not a legal right, agreeable to the 
known principles of the British laws. If it be 
argued that their claims could only be founded 
in many cases upon usurpations, as the law would 
denominate them, so it should be recollected are 
all the rights of property among us, at least as 
expounded by a fiction of that law. The tenants 
in capite encroached upon the crown ; the lesser 
upon the greater barons ; the smaller proprietors, 
especially the copyholders, upon the barons. In- 
deed, it is calculated by Barrington, in his work 
on our Ancient Statutes, that not many centuries 
ago, half the lands of England were held upon 
the degrading tenure of villainage ; and that, with- 
out the state it implied, or the galling conditions 
it imposed, being abolished by statute, it gradu- 

x 



306 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

ally ceased by force of long usage. Thus has 
custom ratified those rights of possession which 
grew up imperceptibly amongst us, prescribing 
accordingly the appropriation of all property not 
yet in severalty. Thus, if a royal forest has to be 
inclosed, the contiguous parishes, or rather pro- 
prietors, demand their share, on the ground that 
they have depastured upon it. ". They urge their 
claims, and have those claims allowed." But 
shall we not blush for ourselves and our country, 
when we observe at what precise point it is that 
this principle stops — that those essential rights, 
interests, advantages, call them what you please, 
which ought on every plea, whether of justice, 
humanity, or policy, to have been liberally con- 
sidered and fully secured, have been altogether 
slighted and sacrificed ; that land which had not 
been appropriated since it was created, was, when 
divided, dealt to the wealthy alone, and in shares 
proportioned to their wealth, to the total exclusion 
of the claims of the poor ; and that in those cases 
where, according to Locke's doctrine, they had 
obtained a sort of natural right to their little cot, 
with its inclosure, by having obtained it by their 
own labour, and in some sort created it — even 
then, as he indignantly exclaims, the rich man, 
who possessed a whole county, seized when he 
pleased upon the cottage and garden of his poor 



CASE OF THE AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS. 307 

neighbour, in contempt of what, had they been 
as fully traced, and as well asserted, would have 
been found to be rights as sacred as his own. I 
am aware that I am now taking a most serious 
view of this subject. God forbid, however, that I 
should pursue this course with any other view 
than that of inducing the legislature to look into 
this matter, and then it will, I am sure, make 
some restitution (and moderate, indeed, will be 
all that I shall propose, and involving no sacrifice 
of property whatever) for the injuries sustained 
by the poor in this to them important matter. I 
shall therefore, persist in showing, on authorities 
as well conversant with the common law of the 
country and the rights in question as any, I think, 
that now exist ; that the inclosures of the country, 
as they have been carried into effect, have been 
inconsistent with the principles of law as well as 
with equity and mercy. I will first quote the 
earliest legal authority, who wrote specially upon 
inclosing, or as he expresses it in the legal phrase 
which still survives, " approving"; and one who 
was also a practical agriculturist — Sir Anthony 
Fitzherbert, the celebrated lawyer and judge. He 
thus lays down the law on the occasion, in his 
book of surveying. " Every cottager sal have his 
portion assigned him, and then sal not the ryche 
man overpresse the poore man." Sir Robert Cot- 

x 2 



308 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

ton, of the same profession, and who also wrote 
expressly upon the subject— inclosing, speaks 
thus i — " In the carriage of this business there 
must be much caution to prevent commotion ;" 
he recommends, therefore, that '■ plots shall be 
devised to such inhabitants, and at and under 
easy values. " Lord Chancellor Bacon, strenu- 
ously urging the same agricultural improvement, 
couples it, however, with this momentous condi- 
tion :— " So that the poor commoners have no 
injury by such inclosures." The total neglect, 
however, of their rights in all such proceedings 
called forth the strongest reprobation of a suc- 
ceeding Chancellor, who termed the system as 
pursued— " a crime of a crying nature." 

" I have adverted to Locke's energetic expres- 
sions on the subject, and shall pass over many 
others, only adducing one more authority of a 
modern date, and of an official character. It is 
that of a report, (drawn up, I believe, by the ex- 
cellent and patriotic Sir John Sinclair,) of a 
Select Committee of the House of Commons, 
appointed for the special purpose of consider- 
ing the subject, which clearly recognises these 
rights of the poor, and most strongly recommends 
that they should be secured. " If," says the re- 
port, " a general bill were to be passed, every 
possible attention to the rights of the commoners 



CASE OF THE AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS. 309 

would necessarily be paid. The poor would then 
evidently stand a better chance of having their 
full share undiminished. " I will not multiply 
these authorities ; suffice it to say, that all such 
have held the privileges the poor formerly pos- 
sessed in the light of sacred rights, and have 
earnestly contended for the necessity of their 
preservation ; these, however, have been now 
almost entirely wrested from them by a series of 
private inclosure bills ; inflicting upon them, as a 
class, the most irreparable injuries. Inclosures 
indeed might have been so conducted as to have 
benefitted all parties ; but now, coupled with 
other features of the system, they form a part of 
what Blackstone denominates a " fatal rural po- 
licy;" one which has completed the degradation 
and ruin of your agricultural poor. Formerly the 
industrious labourer had this means of advance- 
ment; to this remaining privilege, also, the ejec- 
ted little farmer could resort, but at the same 
time and under the same system, that some vil- 
lage monopolist seized upon his fields, he drove 
him also from the waste. 

" If to some common's fenceless limits strayed, 
He drives his flocks to pick the scanty blade ; 
Those fenceless fields the sons of wealth divide, 
And e'en the bare-worn common is denied." 

Now, Sir, it was from the first so obvious, not- 



310 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

withstanding all the interested and selfish decla- 
rations to the contrary, that inclosures, as they 
were carried into effect, would be greatly injuri- 
ous to the industrious and agricultural poor, that it 
hardly seems necessary to prove how entirely their 
fears have been verified. I will, however, just 
mention, that the report of a committee on in- 
closures, in 1808, states, that the results which 
were the subject of examination in a tour of 1600 
miles, made for that purpose, proved that they 
had been clearly injurious to the poor. An intel- 
ligent witness informs another committee of this 
house, (that on the high price of provisions,) 
that he had himself been a commissioner un- 
der twenty inclosure acts, and states his opi- 
nion as to their general effect on the poor, lament- 
ing that he had been thereby accessary to injuring 
two thousand people, at the rate of twenty families 
per parish. I fear, Sir, the reply of a poor fellow 
to Arthur Young, the great advocate of inclosures 
(though under regulations which would indeed 
have rendered them a benefit to all parties) re- 
corded in one of his agricultural surveys, is true 
to a more or less degree, of every industrious 
labourer in England, wherever these improvements 
have taken place. To his query as to whether 
the inclosure had injured him, he replied, " Sir, 
before the inclosure I had a good garden, kept 



CASE OF THE AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS. 311 

two cows, and was getting on ; now, I cannot 
keep so much as a goose, and am poor and 
wretched, and cannot help myself; and still you 
ask me, if the inclosure has hurt me !" 

A third, and most grievous evil, is next pointed 
out, in the destruction of the cottages of the poor. 

" Another, and if possible, a still deeper injury 
which it has also perpetrated, still remains to 
be noticed. Not only has the little farm been 
monopolized, the common right destroyed, the 
garden, in many instances, seized, but the cottage 
itself demolished ; and the plough-share now 
drives over many a little plot where once stood 
the bower of contented labour. A few blooming 
shrubs are still seen twining round the fence ; 
and here and there a flower, tenacious of the 
soil, blossoms in its season upon the spot which 
was once the abode of peace and happiness ; like 
those which grow upon the grave of some for- 
gotten, but once-loved being, though the hand 
which planted them is gone for ever. I am 
presenting, Sir, no imaginary or solitary cases ; 
no, these demolitions have been, as Lord Win- 
chilsea observed to the Board of Agriculture, 
many years ago, most numerous : and, not con- 
tent with the opportunities these inclosures gave 
them, the great agriculturists have, in not a few 
instances, combined and subscribed to forward 



812 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

this work of destruction ; and it has even been 
gravely propounded as a question in this house, 
or at least in its committees, whether direct legal 
means ought not to be employed to hasten it 
forwards. There has been no occasion — the work 
is accomplished. Those have prevailed who have 
pronounced the labouring poor to be redundant; 
and whose nests, therefore? as human vermin, 
were to be cleared ; hence their humble abodes 
have been demolished. The foxes, indeed, might 
have holes, and the birds of the air, nests — but 
these Christian philosophers would not let a poor 
man have where to lay his head. Hence, their 
present cottages are often of a most wretched 
description ; ' spurned indignant from the green/ 
they are placed at a distance, so as to ' screen 
the presence of contiguous pride;' miserably de- 
ficient in necessary accommodation, almost al- 
ways destitute of a good and sufficient garden : 
in a word, the wretched inmates, and the hovels 
into which they are thrust, are worthy of each 
other — miserable to the last degree. But, further, 
there are not enough of them : hence, more than 
one family are often thrust into the same dwel- 
ling, to the utter destruction of all peace, com- 
fort, and decency. Sir, on this most important 
point I proceed to prove what I assert, not by 
vague authorities, or opinions in pamphlets and 



CASE OF THE AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS. SIS 

books on political economy ; but by authentic and 
indisputable facts, which at once decide the sub- 
ject. I shall take the first county which is pre- 
sented to us in the Report, and which seems, on 
the testimony of one of the witnesses, to be well 
entitled to that bad pre-eminence, namely, Suffolk, 
Suffolk, Sir, has, in the course of 120 years, in- 
creased in population, including the great increase 
of some of its towns, as much as 80 per centum ? 
and rather more. What has been the increase 
in the accommodation for the poorer part of the 
population? Why, Sir, in 1690, there were 
47,537 houses in that county; in 1821, then, 
there ought to have been at least 90,000 houses. 
But, alas, Sir, there were in the latter year only 
42,773 inhabited houses, the absolute number 
being 11 per cent, fewer than 130 years before! 
The whole of the six counties so selected exhi- 
bited a result, in this respect, not quite so ap- 
palling, but sufficiently distressing, however re- 
garded. Their population had, from 1701 to 
1821, advanced upwards of 75 per cent, but the 
houses for its accommodation less than 25. It 
is unnecessary to remark on what class the 
misery of such a state of things would be made 
to rest. Even in counties supposed by the Com- 
mittee free from this state of things, ' th' infec- 
tion works.' I hold in my hand the invaluable 



314 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

pamphlet of the Vicar of Alford, in Lincolnshire, 
who enumerates fifteen neighbouring parishes, 
in which he found, on diligent inquiry, that the 
agricultural cottages demolished since 1770, a- 
mount to 176, and that nine only have been 
built since that period ! But to return to one 
of the former counties; I will present to this 
house, in the instance of a single parish, and 
that not one selected for the occasion, the facts 
and consequences of such a system. It is de- 
scribed in a letter to the Vicar of a place which 
I shall not name, but an extract from which I 
shall read to the house. It is situated in one of 
the disturbed districts. ' During the last forty 
years,' says the reverend gentleman, ' four cot- 
tages only have been built by • , and even 

these in lieu of the same number taken or fallen 
down. The accommodation for the poor is far 
more confined than it was some years past. The 
old parsonage, which I rebuilt when I came to 
the living, I found inhabited by four pauper 
families. There were, also, a short time previ- 
ously, five pauper families, in two farm-houses, 
now occupied again by farmers. The want of 
room, therefore, has created the greatest diffi- 
culties to the overseers, and has rendered their 
office peculiarly painful. For several weeks they 
have been compelled to quarter a poor family 



CASE OF THE AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS. 315 

at a public-house, two of the young men being 
under the necessity of sleeping in a barn. In 
some of the cottages, the poor are so huddled 
together, that the sight is most distressing, and 
the effect, of course, very demoralising. The 
following is a specimen : — 

Cottage. Families. Persons. Accommodations. 

No. 1---2---10---1 ground floor, 2 bed rooms. 
2---2--- 8---1 room only, 12 feet square. 
3---2--- 7---1 room ground floor, 1 2 J feet 

square. Two girls obliged 

to sleep on the ground floor 
4 . .- . "1 • . . 9---1 room ground floor, 1 bed 

room. 
5---1--- 7„-_l room only, 12 feet square. 
6' - - - -2 --~- 1 1 - . - - 1 room ground floor, 2 bed 

rooms. 

7 m - _ O - - - 11 --- Different Individuals, all fe- 

males, except a youth of 1 8 
and a young boy. 1 room 
ground floor; 1 bed room. 

8 - - - - - - 9--- Different Individuals. 

He goes on to say, * Most of these cottages are 
in a sad state of repair; and all, with the ex- 
ception of the two last, which are parish houses, 
belong to the Lord of the Manor/' He says 
that he made application to the non-resident pro- 
prietor (to whose benevolence of intention, how- 
ever, he bears testimony), and to his agent, but 
could obtain no redress of this grievous state of 



316 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

things ; as the latter had come to the determi- 
nation (a very usual one) that no additional cot- 
tage should be built — of course giving the ortho- 
dox reason for the refusal. I cannot refrain from 
quoting him a little further, as what follows has 
a most special reference to the only apology 
which can be urged for this mass of misery — a 
supposed surplus of numbers. ' The overseers 
assure me,' he adds, ' that there are not more 
labourers than the cultivation of the land requires 
-—nay, that should the use of the thrashing ma- 
chine be discontinued, there would not be suffi- 
cient.' He proceeds to make some pertinent 
and touching remarks upon this state of things, 
and its inevitable consequences, and concludes 
by suggesting a measure of relief, which I had 
long ago regarded as essential to any plan what- 
ever, which contemplates the bettering the con- 
dition of the poor; namely, a restoration of their 
cottages to some extent. He intimates, that the 
condition of the poor in the neighbourhood is, 
at least, quite as bad, and must, sooner or later, 
produce the most lamentable and alarming con- 
sequences. Sir, I will beg the house to consider 
some of these consequences. Not only early and 
general depravity, but crimes of the most fearful 
nature are thus generated. [Here Mr. S. re- 
lated a case of the most appalling kind, the 



CASE OF THE AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS. 317 

details of which are unfit for publication.] But 
not to dwell on this horrid subject, what, I 
ask, must be the usual consequences, when dif- 
ferent families are thus thrust into the same hole 
as a sleeping apartment; and, immorality out 
of the question, how can decency be preserved, 
especially under certain circumstances, in the 
family, in such cases?" 

Besides these main causes of distress, the minor 
evils were briefly adverted to ; arising from — the 
altered custom of hiring by the week instead of 
by the year — the introduction of machinery, — 
and the loss of the in-door work of the female 
cottager, by the progress of machine manufac- 
tures. These subsidiary circumstances were not 
to be counted as grievances or acts of oppres- 
sion ; but they helped to increase the hardships 
created by the former and more intolerable evils. 

Having thus pourtrayed the fearful malady with 
which he had to grapple, Mr. S. next proceeded 
to describe his proposed remedies. And here 
our simplest course is to quote his whole scheme 
in his own words. 

" Sir, the measure I am about to propose is 
not, if I may so express myself, a tentative one, 
a plan of mere experiment; it is founded upon 
no new discoveries in human nature or policy ; 
no novel or untried expedients; no distant or 



318 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

doubtful remedies. It does not contemplate to 
send off the thews and sinews of the country to 
the antipodes, the equator, or the pole, in search 
of relief. Nor does it include the locating of our 
labouring poor upon our waste lands, though 
that scheme, carried into practice to a certain ex- 
tent, I hold to be a much wiser and more patriotic 
scheme than many usually recommend regarding 
them. As a general plan of relief, I think it is, 
however, liable to some objections, which I shall 
not now state. The plan I propose, contem- 
plates to repair the injuries which our labouring 
poor have sustained, in the scenes where they 
have been inflicted, to the equal advantage of 
every class of the community; and by means, 
as I hope to show, perfectly simple and practi- 
cable, and imposing, permanently considered, no 
burthen whatsoever upon us in its execution. 
There will be no novelty in any of my propo- 
sitions, except that of requiring that legislature 
which has been in some measure an accessory to 
the injuries of the poor, to afford those facilities 
which shall render them universal; and the miseries 
of your agricultural poor, and the insubordination 
which they occasion, are at an end. 

" First, I propose that a certain number of cot- 
tages should be rebuilt in those parts of the country 
where they are most wanted ; which being the only 



CASE OF THE AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS, 319 

part of the measure demanding an outlay worth a 
thought, I had for some time meant to have 
postponed ; but after due consideration of the 
subject myself, and having had numerous com- 
munications with others most impressed with the 
present condition of the poor, I came to the con- 
clusion, that no plan whatever, for the relief of 
our agricultural poor, has the least chance of 
affording them any adequate relief, if this pro- 
position be omitted. A cottage, according to a 
calculation I have made, might be erected, and 
have, at least, its rood of ground around it as 
a garden, and let to the cottager at 50s. per an- 
num, and still pay a higher interest than any 
other description of real or even funded property 
among us. Still less would be the cost, were 
government, without sacrificing any real income, 
to facilitate the measure as I may hereafter sug- 
gest. Here there is accommodation of an infi- 
nitely superior kind to that now usually enjoyed, 
affording a rent which would allow ample reser- 
vations for repairs or other purposes ; at one-half, 
nay, one-third, of the sum usually paid to the 
thoughtless sub-landlord, or griping speculator, 
whom the present system allows to live upon 
the poor-rates, rather than the pauper labourer 
whom he makes his agent for that purpose. The 
erection of even a very few of these cottages 



320 LIFE OP MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

where they are most needed, would not, I hardly 
need say, merely afford so many additional and 
improved accommodations to the degraded poor, 
though even in doing that, the benefit would be 
incalculable; but, Sir, these would inevitably 
have a most surprising and gratifying effect upon 
the rest, in improving the accommodations, and 
consequently, the morals and comforts of the poor : 
secondly, in greatly lessening their extortionate 
rents : and thirdly, in proportionally reducing the 
poor's rates, a large part of which, in many 
places, goes to make good these infamous ex- 
actions. The difficulty of raising means, in this 
land of wealth and humanity, for so humble an 
effort, I will not for one moment regard. Four 
methods I have contemplated, all of which I 
am confident would be available, and any one 
of which would amply suffice for the purpose; 
but should these all fail, where would be the 
difficulty of government granting a small loan, 
secured by the respective parishes at the usual 
interest ; which parishes would possess the pro- 
perty, to their own great and obvious advantage, 
as well as to that of the poor? For this plan, 
so important to the poor in every possible point 
of view, not one farthing, then, would be given, 
not one farthing risked, by either the parish or 
the country. 



€ASE OF THE AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS. 321 

<c The second feature of my measure, Sir, is still 
more easy : it is this— the giving, or rather, re- 
storing, by the means and in the manner I shall 
speedily point out, to the labouring poor— at least, 
to those deserving and desirous of advantage- 
gardens, not gratuitously, indeed, but at the full 
value at which lands are let where they are 
situate, and no more. Sir, this simple restitution 
would effect of itself wonders in their behalf ; the 
revival of cottage horticulture would yield addi- 
tional employment to the peasant, and especially 
at those seasons of the year when he is now 
often without it ; would increase his comforts, and 
go far to restore him plenty at all seasons. By 
gardens, I mean not the barren and overshadowed 
patch, that may still sometimes be left at the back 
or in front of some of the ruinous cottages of the 
country, sufficient, perhaps, to grow a shrub or 
two on which the wretched inmates can hang a 
few rags to dry ;— such, Sir, only mock and tan- 
talize the industry which they can neither excite 
nor reward. Such will, and ought to be, ne- 
glected. I mean by a garden, a good and suffi- 
cient garden. For, when we consider the state 
of the poor, their involuntary idleness and 
wretchedness, and the moral and political con- 
sequences of their condition, and know that 
this one pursuit would relieve them and the 

Y 



S22 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

country of many of the evils under which both 
now labour — were the poor destitute of any wish 
to avail themselves of it, no national sacrifice could 
be too great, hardly any sum (burthened as the 
country is) too vast, could a decided taste for hor- 
ticulture be purchased for our agricultural poor. 
But, Sir, the poor of England have this taste — this 
passion, I may even call it in them, for gardening, 
beyond any other people on earth. What will they 
not do to gratify it, even now that the inclosures of 
the country have rendered it almost impossible for 
them so to do ? Who has not seen the thousands 
of little strips which the poor labourers have taken 
in by the road-sides in this country, the labour of 
inclosing which, estimated at the lowest wages, is 
often many times the worth of the narrow plot 
thus obtained ; though the industrious tenants 
know that they are at any time liable to have their 
plot seized, and are certain that, at some time or 
other, it will be so ? Few of the poor, however, 
have the opportunity, or would have the permis- 
sion, to obtain even this little advantage; it is 
true, the great farmers may allow them occa- 
sionally the temporary possession of a distant 
headland, on which to plant a few potatoes. 
But, Sir, this, wherever situated, is not the ad- 
vantage I ask for this class ; it is the garden, 
properly so called, which the husbandman can 



CASE OP THE AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS. 323 

call his own, in which he can display his taste, and 
which he can cultivate as he pleases ; and where, 
surrounded by his family, he labours not only for 
present but prospective advantages ; where the 
feelings of hope and the consciousness of pros- 
perity are alive within him, rendering him as 
happy as his master ; — feelings, which alas ! are 
seldom gratified. But I will proceed with this 
subject no further. The poor, every one must 
know, have the taste in question. They are 
fully aware of the pleasures and advantages 
attending its gratification, and they bitterly 
complain of having been dispossessed of the 
possibility of doing so. They have, in thou- 
sands of instances, besought their superiors to 
restore to them their garden, as in other days. 
They have constantly prayed for this great favour. 
It has been denied. " They mourn in their prayer, 
and are vexed." I have here a calculation, made 
by one of the ablest of our agricultural writers, of 
the advantages, estimated in the most moderate 
way possible, of a good garden to the industrious 
labourer ; but 1 have not time to give them, im- 
portant and interesting as they are. Still, I would 
not rest here. No advantages, however valuable, 
if indiscriminately extended, would fully answer 
the ends we ought to have in view, regarding this 
class ; nor indeed, can any rank of society, no, 

Y 2 



-324 LIFE OP MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

nor any individual, whatever be his pursuit, be 
incited to those becoming exertions, on which hu- 
man prosperity, individual and national, depends, 
without holding out further adequate induce- 
ments and rewards to successful efforts. I would 
then, propose as a reward and distinction to the 
deserving poor, what would indeed be to them no 
empty honour, but the highest possible advantage, 
though still it would involve no pecuniary sacri- 
fices whatever. I would restore to such the op- 
portunity of keeping on customary terms, their 
cow. These cottagers would have to be selected 
for their good conduct, industrious habits, and 
honest endeavours to bring up their families with- 
out parochial relief. They would have to be ad- 
mitted tenants of little intakes, or to depasture 
upon a general allotment, and having a meadow 
appropriated for the purpose of providing them 
with hay. Either of these plans might be adopt- 
ed, and both of them have been so, with great 
success ; that, however, which gives the cottager 
his own share in severalty, is undoubtedly to be 
preferred. 

" I have contemplated the difficulty which, in 
certain instances, the most industrious of our 
labourers would have, in raising sufficient money 
for this purpose. This difficulty, however, is more 
apparent than real, and may be obviated, as I will 



CASE OF THE AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS. 325 

on another occasion shew, when I hope to enter 
more into the details, and less into the principle 
of the measure, with equal advantage to all par- 
ties. A point far more material to mention is, 
that the measure contemplates securing the ad- 
vantages proposed, whether for keeping the cow 
or the garden, at the current and usual terms of 
land of equal quality in the same district, and let 
by the same owners. And I am ashamed of ac- 
knowledging how necessary is this provision ; 
otherwise, that extortion to which the poor are 
now exposed, would pursue them again. I have 
ascertained, beyond all doubt, that in those few 
instances where the poor now obtain, or have 
been suffered to retain, the advantages in question, 
they too frequently pay for them, on the average, 
more than double what is demanded from the 
larger tenants in the immediate neighbourhood! 
This advantage secured to the little cultivator, 
I will engage for the effects. Happiness will 
be conferred on the class in question, and their 
superiors will also be rewarded ; for to the argu- 
ments which justice and generosity suggest, those 
which self-interest supplies may be fairly added. 
This plan would diminish the burden of the poor- 
rates, now so very heavily felt in many of the 
agricultural districts of this country ; and this 
most important consequence, I proceed to shew 



326 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

would take place, from instances in which a simi- 
lar plan has been put into operation by means of 
private benevolence. The instance I shall first 
adduce is that which occurred in the parish of 
Long Newton, in the county of Gloucester, where 
the excellent and benevolent father of the present 
member for the university of Oxford, the late 
Mr. Estcourt, stated, that, out of 196 persons, 
thirty-two families, consisting of 140 persons, were 
poor, and indeed, in the depth of extreme poverty, 
to use his own words. The poor rates amounted 
to £324. 13s. 6d 8 In order to extricate them 
from this state of misery and wretchedness, he 
adopted a plan in some respects similar to the 
plan I now propose,— -and what have been the 
consequences ? An immediate abatement in the 
misery of the poor ; the most gratifying improve- 
ment in their character and morals ; and a pro- 
gressive diminution in the poor-rates, down to 
£135 in 1829 (the last year reported) amounting 
to lOd. in the pound only, on the valuation of the 
parish in 1815. In Skiptonmoyne, an adjoining 
parish, where the same course is pursued, I find 
the poor rates have diminished between 1813 and 
1829, from £367 to little more than £209 on the 
last three years. In the small parish of Ashley, 
where the present excellent Member for Oxford 
University has also pursued the same course since 



CASE OF THE AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS. 327 

1812, I find that the poor rates, which then stood 
at £89 in the year 1813, have now dropped to £55 , 
or lOjd. in the pound. In other parishes the 
same effect is producing, under the same auspi- 
cious direction. 

" But, perhaps, it may be said, that every 
plan of benevolence, of whatever character or 
description, is found to answer under the warm 
and enthusiastic manangement of its patron. To 
show that this system of benevolence does 
not depend upon mere superintendence ; I will, 
lastly, give another instance (the parish of 
Lyndon, in Rutland,) where the cottagers have 
been allowed these privileges for at least two 
hundred years ; for at that time an inclosure 
took place, and the then owners had the good 
sense and humanity to reserve a small allotment 
for the purpose of letting it to the cottagers at 
moderate rents. A gentleman who communi- 
cated to the Board of Agriculture, about thirty 
years ago, through Lord Winchilsea, says, as a 
natural consequence of such a system — " We can 
therefore hardly say that there are any industrious 
persons here who are really poor, as there are in 
places where they have not this advantage." This 
communication was made in 1796, # and I have 

* See Appendix (E.) 



328 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

been anxious to see the effect of this system, 
imperfect as it is in some respects, on the poor- 
rates. I find that, on the average of the last seven- 
teen years, namely, during the period in which 
we have had annual returns, the amount averaged 
£25. 4s. 8d. only; or, on the valuation of 1815, 
rather more than 4§d. in the pound ; or perhaps 
a penny in the pound on the value of the whole 
produce of the parish. Would the most parsi- 
monious manager of the poor require a less de- 
mand upon the national or parochial funds than 
this? (The honourable member adduced two other 
instances, one of a village in Lincolnshire, and 
another in Worcestershire, where the same man- 
agement had produced equally beneficial results*) 
I had meant to have given some equally authentic 
proofs of the individual happiness this system cre- 
ates, wherever it has been partially introduced ; 
but time will not admit. To the poor in particular, 
to use the language of a most intelligent corres- 
pondent of the Board of Agriculture, " the advan- 
tage is so great, as to baffle all description." May 
it he the business of this house 9 as it is its evident 
duty, to make that happiness universal." 

We shall add only Mr. Sadler's brief pero- 
ration, and then conclude the subject. 

" Sir, I would fain hope that in this house, the 
condition of the poor will still meet anxious con- 



CASE OF THE AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS. 829 

sideration — that here, their wrongs will find re- 
dress. The suggestions of private benevolence, 
aided, indeed, by the soundest views of policy 
and interest, have long been urged in vain ; their 
wrongs have gone on increasing, and will never 
be redressed, except this house interfere. Let it 
do so then, and without delay ; let wealth al- 
low to industry which incessantly labours for 
its benefit, a comfortable abode, wherein to 
rest. Let those who demand their summer 
toil, give them the means of employment and 
subsistence in the winter season , lest the cry 
of them that have reaped our fields, come up before 
the Lord of the harvest; that Deity who is no 
respecter of persons; or, if He be, who is the 
respecter of the poor and needy. If feelings of 
justice and gratitude no longer sufficiently prevail, 
let those of just apprehension and awakened fear 
be added. Recollect the mighty power with 
which we have to deal, Like another Samson, 
we deem it blind, and doom it to grind at the 
mill, for our pleasure and convenience ; but let 
the economists and politicians take care how 
they sport much longer with its unawakened 
feelings, lest the spirit of vengeance and of 
strength return upon it, and it bow itself mightily 
against the pillars of your unrighteous system, 
and destroy the social structure, though itself 



330 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

perish in the ruins. Sir, I trust, this House 
will listen to the suggestions of kindness and be- 
nevolence ; that it will support a measure which 
demands the permanent sacrifice of none of the 
property of the country, but which, on the con- 
trary, would greatly lighten the burthens it now 
sustains, and above all, would give prosperity and 
peace to our rural poor. Let the House then 
assume its noblest character, that of the protector 
of the poor, and seeing that the suggestions of hu- 
manity and the dictates of policy have long been 
disregarded, let the law once more interpose its 
sacred shield, and protect the defenceless and 
the wretched from the miseries which they have 
too long endured." 

From this rapid review of one of Mr. Sadler's 
plans, two observations seem naturally to arise. 

1. How total and universal is the opposition 
existing, between a really philanthropic system, 
such as that of Mr. Sadler, and the whole series 
of schemes and propositions emanating from the 
Malthusian or Economists' school. 

Within the last twenty years a number of per- 
sons of the latter class, possessed of discernment 
enough to perceive the disorder and derangement 
which has been spreading among the industrious 
portions of the community, have tendered, in 



CASE OF THE AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS. 331 

various ways, their counsel, as to the best method 
of remedying these unquestionable evils. One 
of these boldly went the whole length of Malthu- 
sianism, and proposed, in Parliament, to enact a 
penal law against marriage ; penal at least so far 
as this, that every poor man who ventured to 
marry after a certain day to be fixed, should do 
it on peril of seeing his children, in any period of 
distress, perish before his face ; all claim to relief 
being, by statute, formally taken away. The recep- 
tion given to this proposal being but a cool one, 
another more charitably proposes to a Parlia- 
mentary Committee, to print heaps of tracts on 
" the principles of population," for distribution 
among the boys and girls of the working classes ; 
sagely expecting, by these little books, to deter 
the said boys and girls from doing anything having 
a tendency " to burden the market of labour," by 
augmenting " the already redundant population." 
This wiseacre of course got laughed at ; in spite 
of which, societies " for the Diffusion of Useful 
Knowledge" were formed, and a variety of stories 
and tracts against marriage were pushed into cir- 
culation. Later still, we have had Emigration- 
nostrums in abundance ; and the latest fancy of 
all seems to be, to provide the poor with play- 
grounds and gymnasiums, (!) without, however, 
attempting to do any one thing to relieve them 



332 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLE&, 

from the necessity of working thirteen or fourteen 
hours a-day, to get bread for their children I 

Now some of these schemes have emanated from 
men of talent, and some of them from men of 
humanity. And yet, such is the besotting in- 
fluence of the Malthusian theory, that the hu- 
mane men have been found to propose some 
of the most cruel, — the clever men some of the 
most absurd, of all schemes that ever have been 
concocted. And amidst the whole, including a 
great number of propositions, in the long course of 
twenty years, — not one proposal was ever made, 
even in a quarter of a century, which so much as 
contemplated the giving to the poor man the solid 
value of a single shilling ! Various things were 
to be taken away ; marriage was to be made a 
prohibited thing ; home and children were to be 
removed out of reach;— or, if the schemer were 
kindhearted, he might propose to give the poor 
man " population-tracts," or a " gymnasium :" 
but the^r^, and we believe the only person, in 
a quarter of a century, who so much as mooted 
the idea, of giving any substantial relief, any real 
boon, to the people, was Michael Thomas Sadler. 

One great practical difference between these 
schemers, and such a man as Mr. Sadler, consisted 
in this, — that the tendency and drift of his mind 
ever was, to do something for, — to bestow some- 



CASE OF THE AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS. 333 

thing upon,— those who were in need. Whereas 
the bias among the Economists seem to be, (we 
speak of the masters of that school, and by no 
means of all their scholars,) to deal with the poor 
as with locusts, or vermin, and by every plan, 
to cut them short, and to reduce their numbers. 
Thus, when an examination of the several con- 
ditions of the labourer and the pauper were gone 
into, and it appeared that there was far too slight 
a difference between the two, — the Malthusian 
and the Sadlerian would instantly propose re- 
medies diametrically opposed to each other. The 
follower of Mai thus would exclaim, " How abo- 
minable ! that the pauper should fare as well as, 
or better than, the hard-working man. Let his 
provision be immediately reduced"' The disciple 
of Mr. Sadler, on the other hand, would say, 
" How shocking ! that the honest and industrious 
labourer, should fare no better than the idle pau- 
per ! Let us see whether something cannot be 
done, to raise his condition." The one arguing 
from this unjust equality, in favor of taking some- 
thing from the pauper ;— the other, from the same 
circumstance, in favor of giving; something to the 
labourer. 

Such was the drift and governing principle of 
the proposition we have now been considering. 
Seeing the undeniable fact ; — that many privileges 



334 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

and advantages had been taken from the working 
man^ in the course of the last half-century, and 
that by these reductions he had been left in a 
state of hopeless, helpless poverty, with no appa- 
rent way of raising himself, by any conceivable 
exertion or skill, — Mr. Sadler's first attempt was, 
to hold out a friendly hand, and to afford to the 
labourer some opportunity of extricating himself 
from the poverty with which he was on every 
side surrounded. His object was, to act on the 
poor man by the powerful motive of hope. The 
only motive ever used by the Economists, in their 
endeavours to improve the condition of the poor, 
is the opposite one of fear. Which is the most 
humane of the two, and which the wisest, it does 
not seem difficult to determine. 

2. And this naturally gives rise to another re- 
flection ; which we should rejoice to be able to 
convey to the minds of the great body of the in- 
dustrious classes ; — namely, that it is a gross de- 
lusion and a fraud, which would impose upon 
them, as their real or their only friends, certain 
parties whose chief characteristic is, a noisy zeal 
on the democratic side on all political contro- 
versies. 

Now the broad fact ought to be generally un- 
derstood, and seriously thought upon ; — that not 
one of the mouth-pieces of this party— call- 



CASE OF THE AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS, 335 

ing itself " liberal," — has ever been found to 
propose, or even to second, with zeal and 
efficiency, any real boon to the people. Po- 
litical 'power, indeed, they are always ready to 
accord, or anything else that costs nothing. But 
tell these same patriots that the poor have per- 
sonal and pecuniary rights, as well as political 
ones ; — that it is far better for a labourer to 
have a good cottage and garden, than to have 
a vote for the county ; and you will speedily 
find that in helping the poor in this real and 
tangible manner, none are more backward than 
those who are always fond of proclaiming them- 
selves " the friends of the working classes." 
And, on the other hand, the man whose whole 
time and thoughts were given to plans and pro- 
positions of this kind, was one of those whom it 
is customary, in the ordinary slang of the " libe- 
ral" prints, to hold up to popular abhorrence as 
a " bigot," a " borough-monger," and a " high 
Tory." 



CHAPTER XL 

A. D. 1831—2. 
THE CASE OF THE FACTORY CHILDREN. 

We have now arrived at an important period in 
Mr. Sadler's Life. In the matter of Irish Poor 
Laws, while he felt the progress actually made 
towards success, it was not permitted him to see, 
in his own days, the practical result of his la- 
bours. Nor, although he had an innate consci- 
ousness, amounting to perfect certainty, of his 
victory over the Malthusian system,— was his 
life prolonged to behold the utter vanishing of 
that system, as we have since witnessed it ; until 
at present, no man is found of sufficient boldness 
to avow himself a disciple of the once honored 
master of political economy. But, in the matter 
of which we are about to speak, certain great 
and important steps, though falling utterly short 
of the whole necessity of the case, were actually 



THE CASE OF THE FACTORY CHILDREN. 337 

taken in his own life-time ; and a system of legis- 
lation, and of continual watchfulness established, 
which promised further advances in years to come. 
Hence we may naturally consider the factory 
question to be especially one of those subjects, 
upon which Mr. Sadler's well-earned fame main- 
ly rests. 

This topic was in no degree new to him. It 
had long been his fixed intention, immediately 
he had fairly opened the case of the Agricultural 
Labourers, — to follow it by an appeal to Parlia- 
ment on the grievances of the Factory Operatives. 
But, on his return into Yorkshire in the autumn 
of 1831, he received such applications from various 
friends, on the subject of the oppressions suffered 
by the latter class, as induced him to betake him- 
self to a complete investigation of the existing 
state of the case ; the results of which impelled 
him to bring the subject before the legislature at 
the earliest possible period. 

He accordingly asked and obtained leave, on 
the 15th of December 1831, to bring in a 
Bill "for regulating the labour of children and 
young persons in the Mills and Factories of this 
country ; '• — and having framed his measure, and 
had it printed, he moved its second reading, on the 
16th of March 1832, in a speech of some length, 
and which, according to the practice of the House, 

z 



LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

explained the necessity, and asserted the fitness 
of the proposition so submitted to it. 

It is not too much to say of this address, that 
while a more closely-reasoned or convincing argu- 
ment never was produced, — none, even of Mr. 
Sadler's own productions, is more redolent of deep 
and strong feeling, excited, not by fancy, but by 
fact. We must, as before, offer several large ex- 
tracts ; inasmuch as, without such, our readers 
would obtain but an imperfect view of one of the 
greatest efforts of Mr. Sadler's life. 

He opens, according to his usual habit, by re- 
viewing and clearing away, the main difficulties 
started by opponents. The first of these, is the 
current cry of the capitalist, "Let us alone — no 
legislation on matters affecting the market of 
labour." With this objection Mr. S. thus deals: — 

" The Bill which I now implore the House to 
sanction with its authority, has for its object the 
liberation of children and other young persons 
employed in the mills and factories of the United 
Kingdom, from that over-exertion and long con- 
finement which common sense, as well as ex- 
perience, has shown to be utterly inconsistent 
with the improvement of their minds, the pre- 
servation of their morals, and the maintenance of 
their health ; — in a word, to rescue them from a 
state of suffering and degradation, which it is 



THE CASE OF THE FACTORY CHILDREN. 339 

conceived the -children of the industrious classes 
in hardly any other country have ever endured. 

" I am aware that some gentlemen profess, upon 
principle, a great reluctance to legislate upon 
these matters ; holding such interference to be an 
evil. So, I reply, is all legislation, — upon what- 
ever subject, — and an evil only to be tolerated 
for the purpose of preventing some greater one ; 
I shall therefore content myself with meeting 
this objection, common as it is, by simply chal- 
lenging those who urge it to show us a case which 
has stronger claims for the interposition of the 
law ; whether we regard the nature of the evil 
to be abated, as affecting the individuals, society 
at large, and posterity , or the utter helplessness 
of those on whose behalf we are called on to in- 
terfere ; or, lastly, the fact — which experience has 
left no longer in doubt, that, if the law does not, 
there is no other power that can or will adequately 
protect them. 

"But, I apprehend, the strongest objections that 
will be offered on this occasion, will be grounded 
upon the pretence that the very principle of the 
Bill is an improper interference between the em- 
ployer and the employed, and an attempt to re- 
gulate by law the market of labour. Were that 
market supplied by free agents, properly so de- 
nominated, I should fully participate in these 

Z 2 



340 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

objections. Theoretically, indeed, such is the 
case, but practically, I. fear, the fact is far other- 
wise, even regarding those who are of mature 
age ; and the boasted freedom of our labourers in 
many pursuits will, on a just view of their con- 
dition, be found little more than a name. Those 
who argue the question upon mere abstract prin- 
ciples, seem, in my apprehension, too much to 
forget the condition of society : the unequal divi- 
sion of property, or rather its total monopoly by 
the few ; leaving the many nothing but what they 
can obtain by their daily labour ; which very 
labour cannot become available for the purposes 
of daily subsistence, without the consent of those 
who own the property of the community, — all 
the materials, elements, call them what you please, 
on which labour can be bestowed, being in their 
possession. Hence it is clear that, excepting in 
a state of things where the demand for labour 
fully equals the supply (which it would be ab- 
surdly false to say exists in this country), the em- 
ployer and the employed do not meet on equal 
terms in the market of labour ; on the contrary, 
the latter, whatever be his age, and call him as 
free as you please, is often almost entirely at the 
mercy of the former ; — he would be wholly so, 
were it not for the operation of the poor-laws, 
which are a palpable interference with the market 



THE CASE OF THE FACTORY CHILDREN. 341 

of labour, and condemned as such by their oppo- 
nents. Hence is it that labour is so imperfectly 
distributed, and so inadequately remunerated ; 
that one part of the population is over- worked > 
while another is wholly without employment ; 
evils which operate reciprocally upon each other* 
till a community which might afford a sufficiency 
of moderate employment for all, exhibits at one 
and the same time, part of its members reduced 
to the condition of slaves by over-exertion, and 
another part to that of paupers by involuntary 
idleness. In a word, wealth, still more than 
knowledge, is power; and power, liable to abuse 
wherever vested, is least of all free from tyran- 
nical exercise, when it owes its existence to a 
sordid source. 

" But in showing how far even adults are from 
being free agents, in the proper meaning of the 
term, and, on the contrary, how dependent for 
their employment, and consequently their daily 
bread, upon the will of others, I have prepared the 
way for the conclusion, that children, at all events, 
are not to be regarded as free labourers ; and that 
it is the duty of this House to protect them from 
that system of cruelty and oppression to which I 
shall presently advert. The common-place ob- 
jection, that the parents are free agents, and that 
the children therefore ought to be regarded as 



342 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

such, I apprehend has but little force. It is, 
however, so often and so confidently urged, that 
I shall be excused for giving it some attention. 

61 The parents who surrender their children to 
this infantile slavery may be separated into two 
classes. The first, and I trust by far the most 
numerous one, consists of those who are obliged, 
by extreme indigence, so to act, but who do it 
with great reluctance and bitter regret : them- 
selves perhaps out of employment, or working at 
very low wages, and their families in a state of 
great destitution ; — what can they do ? The 
overseer, as is in evidence, refuses relief if they 
have children capable of working in factories 
whom they object to send thither. They choose 
therefore what they probably deem the lesser evil, 
and reluctantly resign their offspring to the capti- 
vity and pollution of the mill : they rouse them in 
the winter morning, which, as a poor father says 
before the Lords' Committee, they " feel very 
sorry" to do; — they receive them fatigued and 
exhausted, many a weary hour after the day has 
closed ;— they see them droop and sicken, and in 
many cases become cripples and die, before they 
reach their prime : and they do all this, because 
thev must otherwise suffer unrelieved, and starve, 
like Ugolino, amidst their starving children. It 
is mockery to contend that these parents have 



THE CASE OF THE FACTORY CHILDREN. 343 

a choice ; that they can dictate to, or even 
parley with, the employer as to the number of 
hours their child shall be worked, or the treat- 
ment it shall be subject to in his mill ; and it is 
an insult to the parental heart to say that they 
resign it voluntarily : No, " their poverty, and 
not their will, consents. " Consents, indeed ! 
but often with tears, as Dr. Ashton, a physician 
familiar with the whole system, informed the 
committee ; a noble member of which ob- 
served to one of the poor parents then examined, 
who was speaking of the successive fate of several 
of his children, whom he had been obliged to send 
to the factory — "You can hardly speak of them 
without crying?" The answer was "No!" and 
few, I should suppose, refrained from sympa- 
thizing with him, who heard his simple but me- 
lancholy story. Free agents ! To suppose that 
parents are free agents while dooming their own 
flesh and blood to this fate, is to believe them 
monsters ! 

" But, Sir, there are such monsters ; unknown 
indeed in the brute creation, they belong to our 
own kind, and are found in our own country ; 
and they are generated by the very system which 
I am attacking. They have been long known, 
and often described, as constituting the remaining 
class of parents to which I have adverted, Dead 



344 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

to the instincts of nature, and reversing the order 
of society ; instead of providing for their offspring, 
they make their offspring provide for them : not 
only for their necessities, but for their intemper- 
ance and profligacy. They purchase idleness by 
the toil of their infants ; the price of whose hap- 
piness, health, and existence, they spend in the 
haunts of dissipation and vice. Thus, at the very 
same hour of night that the father is at his guilty 
orgies, the child is panting in the factory. Such 
wretches count upon their children as upon their 
cattle ; — nay y to so disgusting a state of degrada- 
tion does the system lead, that they make the 
certainty of having offspring the indispensable 
condition of marriage, that they may breed a 
generation of slaves. These, then, are some of 
the free agents, without the stoj^ge of the beast, 
or the feelings of the man, to whom the advocates 
of the present system assure us we ought to 
entrust the labouring of little children! One of 
these "free agents," a witness against Sir Robert 
Peel/s bill, confessed that he had pushed his own 
child down and broken her arm, because she did 
not do as he thought proper, while in the mill! 
The Lords' Committee refused to hear him ano- 
ther word. And shall we listen to those who 
urge us to commit little children to such guardian- 
ship ? We have heard, in a late memorable case, 



THE CASE OF THE FACTORY CHILDREN. 845 

a dictum, uncontradicted I believe in any quarter, 
stating that, by the constitution of England, the 
first law officer of the crown, representing the 
sovereign, is the guardian of all children, of what- 
ever rank, improperly treated by their parents ; 
but that that court is limited in its interference 
by the circumstance of there being property under 
its control. Will it be contended, then, that in 
these extreme cases of cruelty and oppression, 
(for such I shall call them), where protection is 
far more imperatively demanded, mere poverty 
should be a bar against the course of British jus- 
tice ? If so, let us boast no longer of the impar- 
tiality of our laws ! Why, if in a solitary instance 
a parent were to confine his child, or a master his 
apprentice, in a heated room, and knowingly keep 
him at his labour more hours than nature could 
sustain, and at length the victim were to die under 
the tyrannous oppression, and a coroner's inquest 
were to return a true and just verdict upon the 

occasion, what would be the result ? 

And are the multiplication of such gradual mur- 
ders, and the effrontery with which they are per- 
petrated, to become their expiation ? If not, it is 
high time that the legislature should interfere and 
rescue from the conspiracy of such fathers and 
such masters, instigated by kindred feelings, these 
innocent victims of cruelty and oppression. 



346 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

"There are other descriptions of children, also, 
whom I should be glad to know how the objectors 
to whom I am alluding make out to be free agents. 
I mean, first, poor orphan children— a class which 
the system is a very efficient instrument in multi- 
plying : very few adult spinners, as it is often 
alleged, and as I shall prove, surviving forty ; 
in many instances, therefore, leaving their chil- 
dren fatherless at a very early period of life : 
indeed, so numerous are these, that a physician, 
examined on the occasion to which I have so 
often alluded, was painfully struck with the pro- 
portion. Are these orphans free agents? Again, 
there is in all manufacturing towns a great num- 
ber of illegitimate children, and these also are 
very much increased by the system in question. 
I am aware that a celebrated authority has said, 
these are, " comparatively speaking, of no value 
to society ; — others would supply their place," — 
yet still I cannot but regard these as objects of 
the deepest compassion. To this list of free 
agents I might also add the little children who 
are still apprenticed out in considerable numbers ; 
often, I fear, by the too ready sanction of the ma- 
gistrates'—whose hard, and sometimes fatal, treat- 
ment has been the subject of many recent com- 
munications which I have received from indivi- 
duals of the highest credit and respectability. 



THE CASE OF THE FACTORY CHILDREN. 347 

But, as the objectors to legislative protection for 
the factory children can make it out to be un- 
necessary, because their parents are " free agents" 
for them, when they have any surviving ; so also 
it is quite as clear, probably, in their apprehen- 
sion, that the parish officer is as good a free agent 
for the poor orphan, the illegitimate, or the friend- 
less little apprentice, who may be under his 
special protection ! 

" But I will proceed no further with these objec- 
tions. The idea of treating children, and espe- 
cially the children of the poor, — and, above all, 
the children of the poor imprisoned in factories, — 
as free agents, is too absurd to justify the atten- 
tion I have already paid to it. The protection 
of poor children and young persons from those 
hardships and cruelties to which their age and 
condition have always rendered them peculiarly 
liable, has ever been held one of the first and 
most important duties of every Christian legisla- 
ture. Our own has not been unmindful in this 
respect : and it is mainly owing to the change of 
circumstances that many of its humane provisions 
have been rendered inoperative, and that the pre- 
sent measure has become the more necessary." 

The next class of objections which he antici- 
pates, is of a more definite and practical kind. It 
is that which each description of manufacture 



348 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

might be expected to make ; declaring that it 
especially, above all others, required no legislative 
interference. 

" The very same opposition that has so long and 
so often triumphed over justice and humanity, is 
again organized, and actively at work, and will 
proceed as before. Every branch of manufac- 
ture proposed to be regulated claims in turn to 
be excepted ; a committee of inquiry is again de- 
manded,, and, I fear, in order to postpone, if not 
finally to defeat, the present measure. The 
nature of the evidence that will be brought for- 
ward is perfectly familiar to those acquainted at 
all with the subject. Certificates and declara- 
tions will be obtained in abundance, from divines 
and doctors, as to the morality and health which 
the present system promotes and secures. I 
cannot refrain from giving a sample of what may 
be expected in this line, and I think it will pre- 
pare us for, and arm us against, whatever may be 
advanced in favour of so unnatural and oppressive 
a system. I mean not to impeach the intentional 
veracity or the learning of the witnesses who 
appeared in its favour, and whose evidence cuts 
a very conspicuous figure in these ponderous 
Reports : it furnishes, however, another proof of 
the strange things that may be, perhaps conscien- 
tiously, believed and asserted when the mind or 



THE CASE OF THE FACTORY CHILDREN. 349 

conduct is under a particular bias. They have 
said that the children who were worked without 
any regulation, and consequently according to their 
employer's sole will and pleasure, were not only 
equally, but more healthy, and better instructed 
than those not so occupied ; that night-labour 
was in no way prejudicial, but actually preferred ; 
that the artificial heat of the rooms was really 
advantageous, and quite pleasant ; and that no- 
thing could equal the reluctance of the children 
to have it abated ! That, so far from being fatigued 
with, for example, twelve hours' labour, the chil- 
dren performed even the last hour's work with 
greater interest and spirit than any of the rest ! 
What a pity the term was not lengthened ! in a 
few more hours they would have been worked 
into a perfect ecstasy of delight ! We had been 
indeed informed that the women and children 
often cried with fatigue, but their tears were 
doubtless tears of rapture. A doctor is produced, 
who will not pronounce, without examination, 
to what extent this luxury of excessive labour 
might be carried without being prejudicial. I 
must quote a few of his answers to certain queries. 
" Should you not think (he is asked) that, gener- 
ally speaking, to a child eight years old, standing- 
twelve hours in the day would be injurious ?" 
The doctor reverses, perhaps by mistake, the 



350 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

figures, but his answer concludes, — " I believe it 
is not," " Supposing (it was again demanded) I 
were to ask you whether you thought it injurious 
to a child to be kept standing three-and-twenty 
hours out of the four-and-twenty, should you not 
think it must be necessarily injurious to the health ; 
without any fact to rest upon, as a simple proposi- 
tion put to a gentleman of the medical profes- 
sion?" "Before I answer that question," the 
doctor replies, " I should wish to have an exami- 
nation, to see how the case stood ; and if there 
were such an extravagant thing to take place, and 
it should appear that the person was not injured 
by having stood three-and-twenty hours, I should 
then say it was not inconsistent with the health 
of the person so employed." '* As you doubted/' 
said a noble Lord, " whether a child could work 
for twenty-three hours, without suffering, would 
you extend your doubts to twenty-four hours?" — 
"That was put to me as an extreme case," says 
the doctor : " my answer only went to this effect, 
that it was not in my power to assign any limits." 
This same authority will not take upon himself to 
say whether it would be injurious to a child to be 
kept working during the time it gets its meals. 
Another medical gentleman is " totally unable to 
give an answer" whether "children, from six to 
to twelve years of age, being employed from 



THE CASE OF THE FACTORY CHILDREN. 351 

thirteen to fifteen hours in a cotton-factory, in an 
erect position, and in a temperature of about 
eighty degrees, is consistent with safety to their 
constitution." Another boldly asserts that he does 
not see it necessary that young persons should 
have any recreation or amusement ; nor that the 
constant inspiration of particles of cotton is at all 
injurious to the lungs. Reports of the state of 
particular mills are also given on medical authori- 
ty, but the reporters seem to have totally forgot- 
ten that they had examined a body of persons 
constantly recruited ; from which the severely sick, 
and those who had " retired to die," were neces- 
sarily absent ; and not to have suspected that 
many of these mills were also previously and 
carefully prepared for such inspection. Still, I 
observe, it is allowed that " many of them (the 
children) were pale, and apparently of a delicate 
complexion ;" but "without any decided symp- 
toms of disease." What did that paleness and 
delicacy, in the rosy morning of life, indicate ? 
Why, that disease, though not decided as to its 
symptoms, was fastening, with mortal grasp, upon 
its victims ; that already early labour and confine- 
ment had, " like a worm i'th bud, fed on their 
damask cheek ;" that the murderous system was 
then about its secret, but certain and deadly, 
work. In corroboration, however, of all that 



352 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

these learned persons have advanced, and in full 
proof of the excellency of the entire system, bills 
of mortality of certain places and works were 
adduced, in some of which it was made to appear 
that, in a mean number of 888 persons employed, 
the annual mortality had, during eight years, 
averaged 3-nnro or one in 229 only ! This sort of 
evidence suggests many ludicrous ideas ; which 
however I shall suppress as unsuitable to the sub- 
ject : it will, doubtless, be again adduced in 
great abundance before another select committee. 
Physicians, divines, and others, will be still 
found to testify to the same effect. But I will 
take the liberty of showing, before I sit down, 
the true value of all such certificates. The Par- 
liament, indeed, did not much regard these cham- 
pions of the factory- system on a former occasion ; 
and, after what I shall advance, I hope the House 
will not trouble them again." 

From considering the objections raised, Mr. 
Sadler passed to the reasons which existed for 
such a measure. 

" And, first, in reference to one description of 
spinners, from some of whom I am now meeting 
with opposition of every kind, — I mean the spin- 
ners of flax, — I would seriously ask any gentle- 
man, who has himself gone through a modern 
flax-mill, whether he can entertain the slightest 



THE CASE OF THE FACTORY CHILDREN. 353 

doubt that the occupation, as now pursued, must, 
in too many cases, be injurious to health and 
destructive of life. In many departments of these 
mills, the dust is great, and known to be highly 
injurious. In those in which fine spinning has 
been introduced, the air has to be heated, as in 
some of the cotton-mills ; the flax has also, in 
one of the processes, to be passed through water 
heated to a high temperature, into which the 
children have constantly to plunge their arms, 
while the steam and the spray from the bobbins 
wet their clothes, especially about their middle, 
till the water might be wrung from them ; in 
which condition they have, during the winter 
months, to pass nightly into the inclement air, 
and to shiver and freeze on their return home. 
In the heckling-rooms, in which children are now 
principally employed, the dust is excessive. The 
rooms are generally low, lighted by gas, and 
sometimes heated by steam ; altogether exhibiting 
a state of human suffering the effects of which I 
will not trust myself to describe, but appeal to 
higher authority. 

" I hold in my hand a treatise by a medical 
gentleman of great intelligence, Mr. Thackrah of 
Leeds, who, in his work " On the effects of arts 
and trades on health and longevity," thus speaks 
of this pursuit — " A large proportion of men in 

2 a 



354 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

this department die young. We find, indeed, 
comparatively speaking, few old persons in any of 
the departments of the flax-mills." — " On inquiry 
at one of the largest establishments in this neigh- 
bourhood, we found that of 1079 persons employ- 
ed, there are only nine who had attained the age of 
fifty ; and besides these only twenty-two who 
have reached forty." 

" It may perhaps be here remarked, that this 
factory-census does not indicate the rate of morta- 
lity, but merely shows that few adults are required 
in these establishments. If so, then another enor- 
mous abuse comes into view ; namely, that this 
unregulated system over-labours the child, and 
deserts the adult ; thus reversing the natural 
period of toil, and leaving numbers without em- 
ployment, or the knowledge how to pursue it if 
they could obtain any, just at the period when 
the active exertions of life ought to commence. 
Why ! this is to realize, in regard of this victim of 
premature labour, the fate of the poor little chim- 
ney-sweeper, whose lot, once commiserated so 
deeply, is now, I think, too much forgotten, and 
whose principal hardship is not that he is of a 
degraded class, but that when he has learnt his busi- 
ness he has outgrown it, and is turned upon society 
too late to learn any other occupation, and has 
therefore to seek an employment for which he is 



THE CASE OF THE FACTORY CHILDREN. 355 

unqualified. So far, then, this unrestricted fac- 
tory system perpetrates the deepest injury, not 
only upon individuals, but upon society at large. 

" But to return to Mr. Thackrah. He says, that 
a visitor cannot remain many minutes in certain 
rooms without being sensibly affected in his 
respiration. Also, that " a suffocating sensation 
is often produced by the tubes which convey 
steam for heating the rooms.'' He examined, by 
the stethoscope, several individuals so employed, 
and found, in all of them, " the lungs or air-tube 
considerably diseased." He adds, that the coughs 
of the persons waiting to be examined, were so 
troublesome as continually to interrupt and con- 
fuse the exploration by that instrument. He 
says, (l that though the wages for this labour are 
by no means great, still the time of labour in the 
flax-mills is excessive. The people are now 
(November 1830) working from half-past six in 
the morning till eight at night, and are allowed 
only an interval of forty minutes in all that time. 
Thus human beings are kept in an atmosphere of 
flax-dust nearly thirteen hours in the day, and 
this, not one, but six days in the week." "No 
man of humanity," he observes, "can reflect, 
without distress, on the state of thousands of chil- 
dren, — roused from their beds at an early hour, 
hurried to the mills, and kept there, with an 

2 a 2 



356 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

interval of only forty minutes, till a late hour at 
night — kept, moreover, in an atmosphere loaded 
with noxious dust." " Health," he exclaims, 
" cleanliness, mental improvement — how are they 
regarded ? Recreation is out of the question. 
There is scarcely time for meals. The very 
period of sleep, so necessary to the young, is too 
often abridged. Nay, children are sometimes 
worked even in the night ! Human beings thus 
decay before they arrive at the term of maturity. " 
He observes elsewhere, " that this system has 
grown up by a series of encroachments upon the 
poor children ; that the benevolent masters are 
not able to rectify these abuses. A legislative 
enactment is the alone remedy for this as well 
as the other great opprobrium of our manufactures 
— the improper employment of children." Such 
are the opinions of this medical gentleman upon 
this subject, written long before the present bill 
was before the House ; and founded upon daily 
observation and experience. 

" I might add the opinion of another very excel- 
lent practitioner of the same place, Mr. Smith, 
respecting the cruelty of the present system, and 
the misery and decrepitude which it inflicts upon 
its victims; but his opinions, given with great 
force and ability, have, I think, been already 
widely disseminated by means of the press. The 



THE CASE OF THE FACTORY CHILDREN. 357 

other surgeons of the Leeds Infirmary — all men 
of great professional eminence — entertain, I 
believe, precisely similar opinions. One of them, 
Mr. Hey, a name that at once commands the 
highest respect in every medical society of this 
country, or indeed of Europe, presided as mayor 
of Leeds, at an immensely numerous meeting of 
the inhabitants of that borough, when a petition 
from that place, in favour of the bill, was unani- 
mously agreed to ; and afterwards received the 
signatures of between 18,000 and 20,000 persons. 

" In silk and worsted mills, and especially in 
the former, the nature of the employment may be 
less prejudical in itself; but then its duration is of- 
ten more protracted, and it falls in a larger propor- 
tion upon females and young children. In many 
spun-silk mills, in which a different operation from 
that of silk-throwing — and one conducted upon 
Arkwright's principle — is carried on, the practice 
of working children at a very tender age, and of- 
ten all night, prevails. In some of these, I am 
informed, they commence at one o'clock on the 
Monday morning, and leave off at eleven on Satur- 
day night ; thus delicately avoiding the Sabbath, 
indeed, but rendering its profitable observance, 
either for improvement, instruction, or worship, 
an utter impossibility. 

" In the worsted mills, the greatest irregular!- 



358 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

ties, as to the hours of working, have existed, and 
therefore occasional oppression, in these depart- 
ments, has long prevailed, Let the following 
extract suffice, from a document drawn up by a 
gentleman in this branch of business, Mr. Wood, 
— to mention whose name is to kindle at once 
the most enthusiastic feelings in the bosoms of the 
honest operatives of the north, and to whom is 
due the honour of originating and supporting this 
attempt to regulate the labour of children ; and 
who, while he has conducted his own manufac- 
ture with the greatest humanity and kindness, 
has still earnestly sought to ameliorate the gene- 
ral condition of the labouring poor. This gentle- 
man gives the ages of 475 persons, principally 
females, employed at a worsted-mill, which, it 
appears, average about the age of thirteen ; and 
adds — 

" Children of these years are obliged to be at 
the factories, winter and summer, by six in the 
morning, and to remain there till seven in the even- 
ing, with but one brief interval of thirty minutes, 
every day except Saturday, ceasing work on that 
day, in some factories, at half-past five, in others 
at six or seven p.m. Not unfrequently this la- 
bour is extended till eight or nine at night — fif- 
teen hours— having but the same interval for 
meals, rest, or recreation : nay, such is the steady 



THE CASE OF THE FACTORY CHILDREN. 359 

growth of this overworking system, that children 
have been confined in the factory from six in the 
morning till eight at night — fourteen hours con- 
tinuously, without any time being allowed for 
meals, rest, or recreation ; — the meals to be taken 
while attending the machines ; and this the prac- 
tice of years. 

" This picture, sufficiently appalling, has also to 
be darkened by the addition of frequent night- 
labour. Such is the practice at Bradford and 
the neighbourhood. But to show that these evils 
are not confined to any particular neighbourhood, 
and that they prevail wherever unprotected chil- 
dren are the principal labourers of the community, 
I shall next advert to their treatment in the flan- 
nel manufactories in the Principality of Wales. 
I quote the following account, which I have re- 
ceived from the most respectable quarter : — 

" With certain fluctuations in the degree of la- 
bour, resulting from the difference in the demand 
of manufactured goods, the children here work 
twenty-four hours every other day, out of which 
they are allowed three hours only for meals, &c. 
When trade is particularly brisk, the elder chil- 
dren work from six in the morning till seven in 
the evening, two hours being allowed for meals, 
&c, and every other night they work all night, 
which is still a more severe case : for this addi- 



360 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

tional night-labour they receive five-pence. 
There is another lamentable circumstance attend- 
ing the employment of these poor children, which 
is that they are left the whole of the night alone ; 
the sexes indiscriminately mixed together ; con- 
sequently you may imagine that the depravity of 
our work-people is indeed very great. The adults 
are employed in feeding the engines. Indepen- 
dant of moral considerations, the accidents that 
occur to these poor little creatures are really 
dreadful ; the numbers of persons to be seen with 
mutilated and amputated limbs are quite distress- 
ing, and this will ever be the case till some better 
regulation is carried into effect. — There is not a 
single place of charitable education, for a popula- 
tion of about 8000 souls, beyond a Sunday-school. 
" As to woollen mills, they are not, generally 
speaking, injurious to health ; though such is the 
case in certain departments of them, especially 
since the introduction of the rotatory machines. 
Here I might argue that the lightness of the la- 
bour, which is the reason usually urged against 
an interference with excessive hours, no longer 
applies, as in woollen mills the labour is, in gene- 
ral, much more strenuous than that in most of the 
before-mentioned factories. But I disdain to 
avail myself of an argument, however plausible, 
which I believe to be fallacious, and I will here 



THE CASE OF THE FACTORY CHILDREN. 361 

observe, once for all, that it is not so much the 
degree of labour which is injurious to these work- 
children (how revolting the compound sounds ! — 
it is not yet admitted, I think, into our language ; 
I trust it will never be familiarized to our feel- 
ings) ; — I say, it is not so much the degree, as 
the duration of their labour, that is so cruel and 
destructive to these poor work-children. It is the 
wearisome uniformity of the employment, — -the 
constrained positions in which it is pursued — and, 
above all, the constant and close confinement, 
which are more fatiguing to the body as well as 
mind, than more varied and voluntary, though far 
stronger, exertion. I dwell upon this point, be- 
cause it is the sole possible plea for the long and 
imprisoning hours of the present laborious system : 
though when properly considered, it is one of the 
most powerful arguments against it. Light la- 
bour ! Is the labour of holding this pen and of 
writing with it strenuous ? And yet, ask a clerk 
in any of the public offices, or in any private 
counting-house, when he has been at his employ- 
ment some half-dozen hours in the day less than 
one of these children, whether he does not think 
that he has had enough of this light labour — to 
say nothing of the holidays, of which he has 
many, and the child none. Ask the recruit 
recent from the plough, whether an hour of his 



362 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

light exertion is not more fatiguing than any 
three he ever endured in the fields. Ask his ex- 
perienced officer how long he can subject even 
the veteran to this sort of slight but constrained 
exertion, though in the open air, with impunity. 
I might appeal to the chair, whether the lingering 
hours which have to be endured here, though un- 
accompanied with any bodily exertion whatever, 
are not " weariness to the flesh." But what 
would be the feelings of the youngest and most 
active individual amongst us, if, for example, he 
were compelled to pass that time, engaged in 
some constant and anxious employment, stunned 
with the noise of revolving wheels, suffocated 
with the heat and stench of a low, crowded, and 
gas-lighted apartment, bathed in sweat, and 
stimulated by the scourge of an inexorable task- 
master ? I say, what would be his ideas of the 
light labour of twelve or fourteen hours in such 
a pursuit ; and when, once or twice in every week, 
the night also was added to such a day ? And 
how would he feel, if long years of such light 
labour lay before him ? If he be a parent, let him 
imagine the child of his bosom in that situation, 
and then judge of the children of thousands who 
are as dear to the Universal Parent as are his own 
to him! Let him think of his own childhood, 
and he will then remember that this light labour 



THE CASE OF THE FACTORY CHILDREN. 363 

is the fatigue of youth, and that strenuous exertion, 
when the buoyant spirit exercises the entire frame, 
is its sport. I might quote authorities on this 
subject ; but it is unnecessary. Common sense 
and common feeling at once decide the point, and 
confute this disgusting plea of tyranny for the 
captivity of youth. Hence the late Sir Robert 
Peel in bringing forward his last measure, empha- 
tically observed, that "it was not so much the 
hardship, as the duration, of labour, which had 
caused the mischievous effects on the rising gene- 
ration." But if, after all, honourable members 
choose to argue the question on different grounds, 
and wish to establish a variation in the duration 
of the labour of children in mills and factories, 
in reference to the nature of the employment, — be 
it so. Confident in my own mind that the bill 
proposes the utmost limit which the youthful con- 
stitution can safely bear, in any pursuit, or under 
any circumstances, I can have no objection to 
that period being abridged in the more pernicious 
and strenuous employments of the country. 

" I shall not attempt at present to give any pre- 
cise account of the length of labour generally 
borne in different mills and factories ; it varies 
according to the humanity of the employer, and 
the demand for his goods at particular seasons. 
But let me here remark, that these variations con- 



364 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

stitute one of the main reasons for a legislative 
protection ; otherwise the humane masters will be 
driven out of the trade : for these, it is quite clear, 
cannot control others less feelingly disposed. They 
are indeed, in the present state of things, as little 
free agents as the children whom they employ ; 
and, moreover, the want of a due regulation 
throws the effects of those fluctuations to which 
trade and manufactures are subject, in an undue 
and distressing degree upon those who are the 
least able to sustain their effects. Thus, if the 
demand and profit of the employer increase, the 
labour of the operatives, most of whom are chil- 
dren, augments, till many of them are literally 
worked to death : if that demand diminish, the 
children are thrown partially or wholly out of 
work, and left to beggary and the parish. So 
that their labour, averaged throughout the year, 
as some mill-owners I perceive have calculated 
its duration, does not appear so excessive. For, 
at the very moment that a strenuous opposition is 
being made against the curtailment of infantile 
labour, the masters themselves, in certain flax- 
mills in the North, have curtailed it to some pur- 
pose—having, if I am not misinformed, diminish- 
ed the employment in some mills, and shut up 
others entirely. And I have no doubt but that, 
at this particular moment, abundance of evidence 



THE CASE OF THE FACTORY CHILDREN. 365 

niight be adduced before a select committee to 
show that the hours mentioned in the bill are 
observed, and indeed a much stricter limitation 
enforced. But then if it be right that the owners 
should be allowed to throw out of employment all 
these children at a few days' notice, is it proper 
that they should be permitted to work them for 
an unlimited number of hours, the moment it 
suits their purpose? If the effect of this bill 
were, in some measure to equalize the labour of 
these poor children, and thereby prevent those 
fluctuations which are so distressing to them in 
both its extremes, it would so far accomplish a 
most beneficial object. It might, I think, trans- 
fer a little of the fluctuation from the factory to 
the stock-room, with great advantage to the oper- 
atives, and consequently to the public at large. 

" It is impossible to furnish any uniform account 
of the hours of labour endured by children in 
these factories, and I am unwilling to represent 
extreme cases as general ones, although it is the 
bounden duty of Parliament to provide against 
such, as it does, for example, with respect to 
atrocious crimes, which are extreme cases in civi- 
lized society. I shall therefore only give one or 
tw T o instances of the extent of oppression to which 
the system is occasionally carried. The follow- 
ing were the hours of labour imposed upon the 



366 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

children employed in a factory at Leeds last sum- 
mer : — On Monday morning, work commenced at 
six o'clock ; at nine, half an hour for breakfast ; 
from half-past nine till twelve, work. Dinner, 
one hour; from one till half-past four, work. 
Afternoon meal, half an hour; from five till eight, 
work : rest for half an hour. From half-past 
eight till twelve (midnight), work : an hour's rest. 
From one in the morning till five, work : half an 
hour's rest. From half-past five till nine, work : 
breakfast. From half-past nine till twelve, 
work : dinner ; from one till half-past four, work. 
Rest half an hour ; and work again from five till 
nine o'clock on Tuesday evening, when the la- 
bour terminated, and the gang of adult and infant 
slaves was dismissed for the night, after having 
toiled thirty-nine hours, with brief intervals 
(amounting to only six hours in the whole) for 
refreshment, but none for sleep. On Wednesday 
and Thursday, day-work only. From Friday 
morning till Saturday night, the same prolonged 
labour repeated, with intermissions, as on Mon- 
day, Monday night, and Tuesday ; except that 
the labour of the last day closed at five. The 
ensuing day, Sunday, must, under such circum- 
stances, be a day of stupor ; to rouse the children 
from which would only be to continue their phy- 
sical sufferings, without the possibility of compen- 



THE CASE OF THE FACTORY CHILDREN. 367 

sating them with any moral good. Clergymen, 
Sunday School-masters, and other benevolent 
persons, are beginning to feel this to be the case ; 
physicians, I find, have long observed it ; and 
parents, wishful as they are that their offspring 
should have some little instruction, are yet more 
anxious that they should have rest. Sunday 
schools have long been rendered appendages to 
the manufacturing system, which has necessarily 
emptied the day-schools of the poor wherever that 
system prevails : but, not content with monopoliz- 
ing the whole week with protracted labour, the 
Sabbath itself is thus rendered a day of languor 
and exhaustion, in which it is impossible that due 
instruction can be received, or the solemn duties 
which religion enjoins duly performed ; in fact, 
it is a mere fallow for the worn-out frame, in 
order that it may be able to produce another 
series of exhausting crops of human labour. If 
some limits therefore are not prescribed to these 
constant and cruel encroachments, our labouring 
population will become, ere long, imbruted with 
ignorance, as well as enslaved by excessive toil." 

" I will however present, in as few words as 
possible, the effects, as described by medical men, 
of these long hours of confinement, without suffi- 
cient intervals for meals, recreation, and rest, and 
continued often through the night, in rooms artifi- 



368 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER, 

cially heated, and lit by gas ; the atmosphere 
being otherwise so polluted and offensive as to 
render respiration painful, even for a few minutes. 
They describe the consequences to be, in many 
cases langour and debility, sickness, loss of appe- 
tite, pulmonary complaints, such as difficulty of 
breathing, coughs, asthmas, and consumptions ; 
struma, the endemia of the factory, and other 
chronic diseases ; — while, if these more distressing 
effects are not produced, the muscular power is 
enfeebled, the growth impeded, and life greatly 
abridged. Deformity is also a common and dis- 
tressing result of this overstrained and too early 
labour. The bones, in which the animal, in con- 
tradistinction to the earthy, matter is known to 
prevail in early life, are then pliable, and often 
cannot sustain the super-incumbent weight of the 
body for so many hours without injury. Hence, 
those of the leg become bent ; the arch of the 
foot, which is composed of several bones of a 
wedge-like form, is pressed down, and its elasticity 
destroyed, from which arises that disease in the 
foot only lately described, but common in factory 
districts. The spine is often greatly affected, and 
its processes irregularly protruded, by which 
great deformity is occasioned. The ligaments 
also fail by overpressure and tension. Hence the 
hinge-joints, of which they are the main support, 



THE CASE OF THE FACTORY CHILDREN. 369 

such as those of the knee and the ancle, are 
overstrained, producing the deformity called 
knock-knees and lame ancles, so exceedingly 
common in mills. Thus are numbers of children 
distorted and crippled in early life, and frequently 
rendered incapable of any active exertion during 
the rest of their days. To this catalogue of suf- 
ferings must be added, mutilation of limbs or loss 
of life, by frequent accidents. The overworking 
of these children, occasions a weariness and leth- 
argy which it is impossible always to resist : 
hence, drowsy and exhausted, the poor creatures 
fall too often among the machinery, which is not 
in many instances sufficiently sheathed ; when 
their muscles are lacerated, their bones broken, 
or their limbs torn off, in which cases they are 
constantly sent to the infirmaries to be cured, 
and if crippled for life, they are turned out and 
maintained at the public cost ; or they are some- 
times killed upon the spot. I have myself known, 
in more instances than one, the arm torn off, — in 
one horrible case both ; and a poor girl now exists 
upon a charitable subscription who met with that 
dreadful accident at one of the flax-mills in my 
neighbourhood. In another factory, and that re- 
cently, the mangled limbs of a boy were sent home 
to his mother, unprepared for the appalling spec- 
tacle : I will not describe the result. It is true 

2 b 



370 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

that a great majority of these accidents are of a 
less serious nature, but the admission-books of the 
infirmaries in any manufacturing district will show 
the number ; and their accounts of the expense of 
buying irons to support the bending legs of the 
young children who become crippled by long 
standing in the mills, will also prove the tendency 
of over-confinement and early labour to produce 
deformity. Dr. Ashton and Surgeon Graham, who 
examined six mills in Stockport, in which 824 
persons were employed, principally children, have 
reported the result individually, and the lists 
seems rather that of a hospital than a workshop. 
The particulars are deeply affecting, but I must 
only give the totals. Of 824 persons, 183 only 
were pronounced healthy ; 240 were stated to be 
delicate ; 258 unhealthy ; 43 very much stunted ; 
100 with enlarged ancles and knees; and among 
the whole there were 37 cases of distortion. The 
accidents by machinery are not, I think, noticed ; 
but I find that Dr. Winstanley, one of the physi- 
cians of the Manchester Infirmary, on examining 
106 children in a Sunday-school, discovered that 
no less than 47 of them had suffered accidents 
from this one cause. I have this morning re- 
ceived, from one of the most eminent surgeons of 
this metropolis, a letter, in which he informs me, 
that on making a tour through the manufacturing 



THE CASE OF THE FACTORY CHILDREN. 371 

districts some years ago, he was painfully struck 
with the numerous cases of mutilation which he 
observed, and which he attributed to this long and 
wearying system of labour in mills and factories. 
Of the mortality which this system occasions, I 
shall speak hereafter. 

" Can anything, then, darken the picture which 
I have hastily drawn, or, rather, which others, in- 
finitely more competent to the task, have strik- 
ingly pourtrayed ? Yes, Sir, and that remains to 
be added which renders it the most disgusting as 
well as distressing system which ever put human 
feelings to the utmost test of endurance. It has 
the universally-recognised brand and test of bar- 
barism as well as cruelty upon it. It is the fee- 
bler sex principally on which this enormous wrong 
is perpetrated ! Female children must be laboured 
to the utmost extent of their physical powers, and 
indeed frequently far beyond them. Need I state 
the peculiar hardships, the disgusting cruelty^ 
which this involves ? I speak not, poor things, of 
the loss of their beauty, — of the greater physical 
sufferings to which their sex exposes them. But 5 
again taking with me the highest medical autho- 
rities, I refer to the consequences of early and 
immoderate labour ; especially at the period when 
the system rapidly attains its full development, 
and is peculiarly susceptible of permanent injury. 

2 B 2 



372 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

Still more are the effects felt when they become 
mothers, for which, I fear, their previous pursuits 
have little qualified them. It is in evidence, 
that long standing has a known tendency — how 
shall I express it ? — contrahere et minuere pelvem, 
— and thereby to increase greatly the danger and 
difficulty of parturition, rendering embryotomy — 
one of the most distressing operations which a 
surgeon ever has to perform — occasionally neces- 
sary. I have communications upon this subject 
from persons of great professional experience ; 
but still I prefer to appeal to evidence before the 
public ; and one reference shall suffice. Dr. 
Jones, who had practised in the neighbourhood of 
certain mills, in favour of which much evidence 
was adduced, which indeed it is rarely difficult to 
procure, states, that in the " eight or ten years 
during which he was an accoucheur, he met with 
more cases requiring the aid of instruments (that 
circumstance showing them to be bad ones,) than 
a gentleman of great practice in Birmingham, to 
whom he was previously a pupil, had met with in 
the whole course of his life." Abundance of evi- 
dence to the same effect is before me. But I for- 
bear. I confess, therefore, that I feel my indigna- 
tion roused when I see papers put forth in which 
it is stated as a recommendation, forsooth, of the 
present system, and as a reason why it should by 



THE CASE OF THE FACTORY CHILDREN. 373 

no means be regulated, that in certain mills girls 
are principally employed ! This a matter of exul- 
tation ! I would address those who so regard it in 
the language of the poet, " Art thou of woman 
born, and feel'st no shame !" 

" Nor are the mental, any more than the physi- 
cal, sufferings of these poor young creatures to be 
overlooked. In the very morning of life, when 
their little hearts yearn within them for some 
relaxation and amusement, to be thus taken cap- 
tive, and debarred the sports of youth, is almost 
as great, nay, a greater cruelty than to inflict upon 
them thus early the toil of advanced life. Their 
fate, alas ! reverses the patriarch's pathetic ex- 
clamation, and their infant days are " labour and 
sorrow." I perceive that I excite the risibility of 
an honourable gentleman opposite. What there 
is to smile at in these just representations of in- 
fantile sufferings, I am really at a loss to imagine. 
I will venture however to give him and the House 
a few more of these amusing facts before I have 
done with the subject. 

" It may be thought almost impossible that 
children should be assembled so early, and dis- 
missed so late, and still kept through the whole 
period in a state of active exertion. I will attempt 
to explain this. First, then, their early and punc- 
tual attendance is enforced by fines, as are many 



374 LIFE OP MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

other regulations of a very severe character ; so 
that a child may lose a considerable part of its 
wages by being a few minutes too late in the 
morning: that they should not leave too soon is 
very sufficiently provided against. Now, this ex- 
treme punctuality is no slight aggravation of the 
sufferings of the child. It is not in one case out 
of ten perhaps that the parent has a clock ; and as 
nature is not very wakeful in a short night's 
rest, after a long day's labour, the child, to ensure 
punctuality, must be often roused much too early. 
Whoever has lived in a manufacturing town, must 
have heard, if he happened to be awake many 
hours before light on a winter's morning, the pat- 
ter of little pattens on the pavement, continuing 
perhaps for half an hour together, though the time 
appointed for assembling was the same. Even 
then the child is not always safe, however punc- 
tual ; for, in some mills, two descriptions of clocks 
are kept, and it is easy to guess how they are 
occasionally managed. So much for the system 
of fines, by which, I am told, some mill-owners 
have boasted that they have made large sums 
annually. 

"Then, in order to keep the children awake, 
and to stimulate their exertions, means are made 
use of, to which I shall now advert, as a last in- 
stance of the degradation to which this system 



THE CASE OF THE FACTORY CHILDREN. 375 

has reduced the manufacturing operatives of this 
country. Sir, children are beaten with thongs 
prepared for the purpose. Fes, the females of 
this country, no matter whether children or grown 
up, — I hardly know which is the more disgusting- 
outrage, — are beaten upon the face, arms, and 
bosom, — beaten in your ' free market of labour,' 
as you term it, like slaves ! These are the instru- 
ments. — [Here the honourable member exhibited 
some black, heavy, leathern thongs, — one of them 
fixed in a sort of handle, the smack of which, 
when struck upon the table, resounded through the 
House.'] — They are quite equal to breaking an 
arm, but that the bones of the young are, as I 
have before said, pliant. The marks, however, of 
the thong are long visible ; and the poor wretch 
is flogged before its companions ; flogged, I say, 
like a dog, by the tyrant overlooker. We speak 
with execration of the cart-whip of the West In- 
dies — but let us see this night an equal feeling 
rise against the factory-thong of England. Is it 
necessary that we should inquire, by means of a 
select committee, whether this practice is to be 
put down ; and whether females in England shall 
be still flogged to their labour ? Sir, I should 
wish to propose an additional clause in this Bill, 
enacting, that the overseer who dares to lay the 
lash on the almost naked body of the child, shall 



376 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

be sentenced to the tread-wheel for a month ; and 
it would be but right if the master who know- 
ingly tolerates the infliction of this cruelty on 
abused infancy, this insult upon parental feeling, 
this disgrace upon the national character, should 
bear him company, though he roll to the house of 
correction in his chariot !" 

Mr. Sadler then adverted to various collateral 
proofs of the necessity of the proposed measure ; — 
such as the state of morals, and the scale of mortality 
in the manufacturing districts ; and the protection 
which the legislature had seen fit to afford, in the 
case of the negro slaves in our colonies. He then 
closed as follows, 

" I must now apologize to this House for having 
so long occupied its time and attention. I owe, 
however, a deeper apology to those whose cause 
I have attempted to advocate, for having, after all, 
left untouched many important claims which they 
have earnestly pressed upon my notice. But if 
honourable members will consult their own 
bosoms, they will find them there. We are about 
to deal with the strongest instincts and the holiest 
feelings of the human heart. The happiness and 
tranquillity of the present generation, and the 
hopes of futurity, depend, in no slight degree, on 
our resolves. The industrious classes are looking 
with intense interest to the proceedings of this 



THE CASE OF THE FACTORY CHILDREN. 377 

night, and are demanding protection for them- 
selves and their children. Thousands of maternal 
bosoms are beating with the deepest anxiety for 
the future fate of their long- oppressed and de- 
graded offspring. Nay, the children themselves 
are made aware of the importance of your present 
decision, and look towards this House for succour. 
I wish I could bring a group of these little ones 
to that bar, — I am sure their silent appearance 
would plead more forcibly in their behalf than 
the loudest eloquence. Sir, I still hope that their 
righteous cause will prevail. But I have seen 
enough to mingle apprehension with my hopes. I 
perceive the rich and the powerful once more 
leaguing against them, and wielding that wealth 
which these children, or such as they, have cre- 
ated, against their cause. I have long seen the 
mighty efforts that are made to keep them in 
bondage, and have been deeply affected at their 
continued success ; so that I can hardly refrain 
from exclaiming with one of old, " I returned, 
and considered all the oppressions that are done 
under the sun, and beheld the tears of such as 
were oppressed; and on the side of the oppressors 
there was power ; but they had no comforter ! " 

" I trust, however, that this House, whose pe- 
culiar duty it is to defend the weak and redress 
the injured, will interpose and extend that pro- 



378 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

tection to these defenceless children, which is 
equally demanded by the principles of justice, 
mercy, and policy. Many have been the strug- 
gles made in their behalf, but hitherto they have 
been defeated ; the laws passed for their protec- 
tion have been avowedly and shamefully evaded, 
and have therefore had little practical effect but 
to legalize cruelty and suffering. Hence at this 
late hour, while I am thus feebly, but earnestly, 
pleading the cause of these oppressed children, 
what numbers of them are still tethered to their 
toil, confined in heated rooms, bathed in perspira- 
tion, stunned with the roar of revolving wheels, 
poisoned with the noxious effluvia of grease and 
gas, till, at last, weary and exhausted, they turn 
out, almost naked, into the inclement air, and 
creep, shivering, to beds from which a relay of 
their young work-fellows have just risen. Such, 
at the best, is the fate of many of them, while, in 
numerous instances, they are diseased, stunted, 
crippled, depraved, and destroyed, Sir, let that 
pestilence, which no longer walketh in darkness 
among us, but destroyeth at noon-day, once seize 
upon our manufacturing population, and dreadful 
will be the consequences. A national fast has 
been appointed on this solemn occasion ; and it 
is well : — let it be one which the Deity himself 
has prescribed, — let us " undo the heavy burdens, 
and let the oppressed go free." 



THE CASE OF THE FACTORY CHILDREN. 379 

" Sir, I have shown the suffering, — the crime, 
— the mortality, attendant upon this system; — 
consequences which, I trust, Parliament will at 
length arrest. Earnestly do I wish that I could 
have prevailed upon this House and his Majesty's 
government to adopt the proposed measure, with- 
out the delay which will attend a further, and, as 
I shall ever maintain, an unnecessary inquiry. 
Would that we might have come to a resolution 
as to the hours during which innocent and helpless 
children are henceforth to be worked in these pur- 
suits, so as to render the preservation of their 
health and life probable, and the due improvement 
of their minds and morals possible ! Would that 
we had at once decided, as we could wish others 
to decide regarding our own children, under like 
circumstances, or as we shall wish that we had 
done, when the Universal Parent shall call us to 
a strict account for our conduct to one of the 
least of these little ones ! As the case, however, 
is otherwise, — as we are, it seems, still to inquire 
and delay, I will now move the second reading of 
the bill; and afterwards propose such a Commit- 
tee as, I hope, will assist in carrying into effect the 
principle of a measure so important to the prosperi- 
ty, character, and happiness of the British people.'' 

The opposition of the interested parties, it 



380 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

will be seen, and their influence with the govern- 
ment, compelled Mr. Sadler to consent to the 
delay involved in a Parliamentary Inquiry. 
Nor was this delay the only evil connected with 
that concession. In its operation, this inquiry was 
unquestionably the means of shortening Mr. Sad- 
ler's own life. It necessarily devolved upon him to 
conduct the whole proceeding. During forty-three 
days, extending from the 12th of April to the 7th of 
August, he occupied the chair of that Committee. 
But this, though a serious task, was but a small por- 
tion of the whole labour. The inquiry was pe- 
culiarly his own. Hence it became his duty to 
seek for information from every part of the king- 
dom ; to correspond extensively with parties 
qualified to give information ; and to carry the 
whole body of evidence accurately through the 
press : and all this in the face of a determined, 
because an interested opposition. The toil of these 
combined operations was very great, making both 
food and sleep often unattainable comforts. The 
effects of that summer's work were visible to the 
very close of his life. It is certain that the exer- 
tion shortened his days : but it is gratifying to re- 
flect, that the sacrifice was not made in vain. 

The result of the whole was the laying on the 
table of the House, on the 8th of August, a mass 
of evidence, establishing a case of the most 



THE CASE OF THE FACTORY CHILDREN. 381 

unquestionable guilt against the Mill-owners, 
and making it clearly inevitable, that some remedy 
should at once be sought out. 

The weight of the accusation, with its accom- 
panying body of proofs, was so felt by the parties 
concerned, that, in desperation at the absence 
of all other pleas, they set up a cry of " partial" 
and " unfair," against the Report of this Com- 
mittee. This excuse, however, could avail them 
nothing, with those who took the trouble to 
enquire into the facts of the case. That 
Committee was amply supplied, by the watchful 
care of "the Factory interest," with zealous 
and able advocates of their views. It consisted 
of Mr. Sadler, Lord Viscount Morpeth, Mr. 
Strickland, Mr. Heywood, Mr. Wilbraham, Mr. 
Vernon, Mr. Benett, Sir Henry Bunbury, Mr. 
Poulett Thomson, Mr. Dixon, Sir John Hob- 
house, Mr. Horatio Ross, Mr. Robinson, Mr. 
Meynell, Mr. Perceval, Mr. Boldero, Lord Nu- 
gent, Mr. Sheil, Sir George Rose, Mr. Attwood, 
Mr. Ridley Colborne, Mr. Kenyon, Mr. Fowell 
Buxton, Mr. Estcourt, Mr. John Smith, Mr. 
Weyland, Viscount Lowther, Mr. Hope, Mr. 
Moreton, and Mr. Lennard ; eight of whom, 
at least, were the earnest guardians of the in- 
terests of the Mill-owners. Most sedulous was 
their attention to the whole proceeding : That 



382 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

any false or wilfully exaggerated statement could 
have passed them undetected, is clearly incred- 
ible. Nevertheless, this was the plea afterwards 
resorted to, and, on the next step being taken in 
Parliament, the manufacturers demanded a new 
enquiry, not before a Parliamentary Committee, 
but by Commissioners sent from London to col- 
lect evidence in the factory-districts. 

This occurred at the opening of the session of 
1833; that of 1832 having been wasted in the 
enquiry conducted by Mr. Sadler. This first en- 
quiry was earnestly deprecated by him, as utterly 
uncalled-for. It answered, however, the purposes 
of the Mill-owners, in postponing all legislation 
for one whole year. No sooner, however, had 
its Report been made, than the factory interest 
impugned that very investigation which they them- 
selves had demanded. They now called for a 
fresh and further enquiry ; an enquiry to be made 
on the spot, by Commissioners despatched from 
London for that purpose. 

Once more the government, which, at their re- 
quest, had forced the Committee of 1832 on Mr. 
Sadler, — gave way to this powerful body ; and a 
further investigation was determined on. On the 
1 9th of April, 1 8 33, a Royal Commission was issued, 
to fifteen persons therein named, enjoining them 



THE CASE OF THE FACTORY CHILDREN. 383 

" to proceed with the utmost dispatch to collect 
information in the manufacturing districts, as to 
the employment of children in factories, and as 
to the propriety and means of curtailing the hours 
of their labour." 

From Mr. Sadler's Committee, therefore, an ap- 
peal was granted ; and that appeal was to a body 
more favourably constituted, it was conceived, 
towards the mill-owners, than the Parliamentary 
Committee of 1832. Of the great influence of the 
manufacturers with the Government, no doubt 
could be entertained ; or that that influence would 
be used to prevent the appointment of any persons 
on the Commission, whose disposition might be 
annoy ingly inquisitive. In fact it was seen in the 
working of this scheme, that several of the Com- 
missioners felt no repugnance at accepting the 
hospitalities of the wealthier Mill-owners, — of the 
very parties, in fact, touching whose alleged mis- 
conduct their enquiry ought to have been made ! 

Yet, notwithstanding all these favourable cir- 
cumstances on the part of the manufacturers, what 
was the main result of this second enquiry ? So 
important is it to understand this, — that we must 
give at some length, the principal passages in the 
Report of the Commission of Inquiry, which was 
laid on the table of the House of Commons, on 
the 28th of June, 1833. 



384 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

The Commissioners, whose general bias, be it 
remembered, cannot have been against the Mill- 
owners, thus sum up the facts collected in the 
course of their enquries. 

" Having thus considered the general treatment 
of children in factories, and the collateral circum- 
stances under which their employment is carried 
on, and which influence in no inconsiderable de- 
gree the effects of that employment, we come now 
to consider what those effects really are, as far as 
they are ascertained by the evidence collected 
under the present investigation. 

" The effects of factory-labour on children are 
immediate and remote : the immediate effects are 
fatigue, sleepiness, and pain ; the remote effects, 
such at least as are usually conceived to result 
from it, are, deterioration of the physical constitu- 
tion, deformity, disease, and deficient mental in- 
struction and moral culture. 

1. " The degree of fatigue produced on children 
by ordinary factory-labour may be gathered from 
their own account of their feelings, and from the 
statements of parents, adult operatives, over- 
lookers, and proprietors. 

" The statements of the children, and more 
especially of the younger children, as to their own 
feeling of fatigue, may be said to be uniform. 
The intensity of the feeling is influenced, without 



THE CASE OF THE FACTORY CHILDREN. 385 

doubt, by the age of the child, and the constitu- 
tional robustness or feebleness of the individual ; 
but the feeling itself is always the same, and dif- 
fers only in degree. The expressions of fatigue 
are the strongest and the most constant on the 
part of the young children employed in the fac- 
tories in Scotland, because there the ordinary 
hours of work are in general longer by an hour or 
an hour and a quarter than in the factories of Eng- 
land. We have been struck with the perfect uni- 
formity of the answers returned to the Commis- 
sioners by the young workers in this country, in 
the largest and best-regulated factories as well as 
in the smaller and less advantageously conducted. 
In fact, whether the factory be in the pure air of 
the country, or in the large town ; under the best 
or the worst management ; and whatever be the 
nature of the work, whether light or laborious ; or 
the kind of treatment, whether considerate and 
gentle, or strict and harsh ; the account of the 
child, when questioned as to its feeling of fatigue, 
is the same. The answer always being "sick- 
tired, especially in the winter nights." " So 
tired when she leaves the mill that she can do 
nothing." " Feels so tired, she throws herself 
down when she gangs hame, no caring what she 
does." " Often much tired, and feels sore, stand- 
ing so long on her legs." " Often so tired, she 

2 C 



386 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

could not eat her supper." " Night and morning- 
very tired ; has two sisters in the mill ; has heard 
them complain to her mother, and she says they 
must work." " When the tow is coarse, we are 
so tired we are not able to set one foot by the 
other." " Whiles I do not know what to do with 
myself; as tired every morning as I can be." 

" Young persons of more advanced age, speak- 
ing of their own feelings when younger, give to 
the Commissioners such representations as the 
following : — " Many a time has been so fatigued 
that she could hardly take off her clothes at night, 
or put them on in the morning ; her mother would 
be raging at her, because when she sat down she 
could not get up again through the house." 
" Looks on the long hours as a great bondage." 
"Thinks they are no much better than the Israel- 
ites in Egypt, and their life is no pleasure to them." 
" When a child, was so tired that she could sel- 
dom eat her supper, and never awoke of herself." 
" Are the hours to be shortened ? " earnestly de- 
manded one of these girls of the Commissioners 
who was examining her, ie for they are too long." 

" The truth of the account given by the children 
of the fatigue they experience by the ordinary 
labour of the factory is confirmed by the testimo- 
ny of their parents. In general the representation 
made by parents is like the following: — "Her 



THE CASE OF THE FACTORY CHILDREN. 387 

children come home so tired and worn out they 
can hardly eat their supper." "Has often seen 
his daughter come home in the evening so fatigued 
that she would go to bed supperless." " Has seen 
the young workers absolutely oppressed, and un- 
able to sit down or rise up ; this has happened to 
his own children." 

" These statements are confirmed by the evi- 
dence of the adult operatives. The depositions of 
the witnesses of this class are to the effect that 
" the younger workers are greatly fatigued ;" that 
" children are often very swere (unwilling) in the 
mornings;" that "children are quite tired out;" 
that " the long hours exhaust the workers, espe- 
cially the young ones, to such a degree that they 
can hardly walk home ;" that " young workers 
are absolutely oppressed, and so tired as to be un- 
able to sit down or rise up ; " that "younger 
workers are so tired they often cannot raise their 
hands to their head ;" that "all the children are 
very keen for shorter hours, thinking them now 
such bondage that they might as well be in a pri- 
son ;" that " the children, when engaged in their 
regular work, are often exhausted beyond what 
can be expressed ;" that " the sufferings of the 
children absolutely require that the hours should 
be shortened. " 

" The depositions of the overlookers are to the 

2 C 2 



388 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

same effect;" namely, that though the children 
may not complain, yet that they seem tired and 
sleepy, and happy to get out of doors to play them- 
selves. That " the work overtires workers in ge- 
neral." " Often sees the children very tired and 
very stiff-like." " Is entirely of opinion, after real 
experience, that the hours of labour are far too long 
for the children, for their health and education ; 
has from twenty-two to twenty-four boys under 
his charge, from nine to about fourteen years old ; 
and they are generally much tired at night, always 
anxious, asking if it be near the mill -stopping." 
" Never knew a single worker among the children 
that did not complain of the long hours, which 
prevent them from getting education and from 
getting health in the open air." 

" The managers in like manner state that " the 
labour exhausts the children ;" that " workers are 
tired in the evening ;" that " children inquire 
anxiously for the hour of stopping ;" and admissions 
to the same effect on the part of managers and 
proprietors will be found in every part of the 
Scotch depositions. 

" In the north-eastern district the evidence is 
equally complete that the fatigue of the young- 
workers is great. " I have known the children," 
says one witness, " hide themselves in the stove 
among the wool, so that they should not go home 



THE CASE OF THE FACTORY CHILDREN. 389 

when the work was over, when we have worked 
till ten or eleven. I have seen six or eight fetched 
out of the stove and beat home ; beat out of the 
mill however. I do not know why they should 
hide themselves, unless it was that they were too 
tired to go home." 

"Many a one I have had to rouse in the last 
hour when the work is very slack from fatigue." 
"The children were very much jaded, especially 
when we worked late at night." " The children 
bore the long hours very ill indeed." " Exhaust- 
ed in body and depressed in mind by the length 
of the hours and the height of the temperature." 
" I found when I was an overlooker, that after 
the children from eight to twelve years had work- 
ed eight or nine or ten hours, they were nearly 
ready to faint ; some were asleep ; some were 
only kept to work by being spoken to, or by a little 
chastisement, to make them jump up. I was 
sometimes obliged to chastise them when they 
were almost fainting, and it hurt my feelings ; then 
they would spring up and work pretty well for 
another hour ; but the last two or three hours 
were my hardest work, for they then got so ex- 
hausted." "I have never seen fathers carrying 
their children backwards nor forwards to the fac- 
tories, but I have seen children apparently under 
nine, and from nine to twelve years of age, going 



890 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

to the factories at five in the morning, almost 
asleep in the streets." 

" Some children do appear fatigued and some 
do not." " I have noticed the drawers exhausted 
beyond what I could express." "Many times the 
drawers are worked beyond their strength." 
There is however a striking contrast in the state- 
ments of all the witnesses relative to the fatigue 
of the children in the factories of the western dis- 
trict, in which the hours of labour for children 
are so much shorter than in the other factories of 
the kingdom. 

2. " Children complain as much of sleepiness 
as of fatigue. " Often feels so sleepy that he can- 
not keep his eyes open." " Longs for the mill's 
stopping, is so sleepy." " Often falls asleep while 
sitting, sometimes while standing." " Her little 
sister falls asleep, and they awake her by a cry." 
"Has two younger sisters in the mill ; they fall 
asleep directly they get home." " Was up before 
four this morning, which made her fall asleep 
when the mill was inspected at one to-day by the 
Factory Commissioners; often so tired at night 
that she falls asleep before leaving the mill." 

" I always found it more difficult to keep my 
piecers awake the last hours of a winter's evening. 
I have told the master, and I have been told by 
him that 1 did not half hide them. This was 



THE CASE OF THE FACTORY CHILDREN. 391 

when they worked from six to eight." " I have 
seen them fall asleep, and they have been per- 
forming their work with their hands while they 
were asleep, after the billey had stopped, when 
their work was over. I have stopped and looked 
at them for two minutes, going through the mo- 
tions of piecening fast asleep, when there was 
really no work to do, and they were really doing- 
nothing. I believe, when we have been working 
long hours, that they have never been washed, 
but on a Saturday night, for weeks together." 
" Children at night are so fatigued that they are 
asleep often as soon as they sit down, so that it is 
impossible to waken them to sense enough to 
wash themselves, or scarcely to eat a bit of sup- 
per, being so stupid in sleep. I experience it by 
my own child, and I did by myself when a child, 
for once I fell asleep, even on my knees to pray 
on my bed-side, and slept a length of time till 
the family came to bed." Overlookers and mana- 
gers in innumerable instances depose to the same 
effect. 

3. "Pains in the limbs, back, loins, and side 
are frequent, but not as frequent as fatigue and 
drowsiness. The frequency and severity of the 
pain uniformly bears a strict relation to the tender 
age of the child and the severity of the labour, 
Pain is seldom complained of when the labour 



39# LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

did not commence until the age of nine, and was 
not immoderate. Girls suffer from pain more com- 
monly than boys, and up to a more advanced age ; 
though occasionally men, and not unfrequently 
young women, and women beyond the meridian 
of life, complain of pain, yet there is evidence 
that the youngest children are so distressed by 
pain of their feet, in consequence of the long- 
standing, that they sometimes throw off their 
shoes, and so take cold. " Feet feel so sair that 
they make him greet." i( Was quite well when 
she went to the mill, but the confinement brought 
on a complaint in her head, and her left side is 
now pained." " Many nights I do not get a wink 
of sleep for the pain." "At first suffered so 
much from the pain that he could hardly sleep, 
but it went off." " Knee failed from excessive 
labour ; severe pains and aches would come on, 
particularly in the morning ; it was better in the 
evening ; felt no pains in any other parts. There 
were two or three complaining at the same time 
of their knees aching." " I have seen children 
under eighteen years of age before six at night, 
their legs has hurt them to that degree that they 
have many a time been crying." 

4. " Swelling of the feet is a still more frequent 
source of suffering. " Obliged to bathe her feet 
to subdue the swelling." " The long standing 



gives her swelled feet and ancles, and fatigues her 
so much that sometimes she does nae ken how to 
get to her bed." "Night and morning her legs 
swell, and are often very painful." That this 
affection is common is confirmed by the concur- 
rent statements of parents, operatives, overlookers, 
and managers. 

5. "That this excessive fatigue, privation of 
sleep, pain in various parts of the body, and swell- 
ing of the feet experienced by the young workers, 
coupled with the constant standing, the peculiar 
attitudes of the body, and the peculiar motions of 
the limbs required in the labour of the factory, 
together with the elevated temperature, and the 
impure atmosphere in which that labour is often 
carried on, do sometimes ultimately terminate in 
the production of serious, permanent, and incura- 
ble disease, appears to us to be established. 
From cases detailed in the evidence, and the ac- 
curacy of which has been strictly investigated, 
we do not conceive it to be possible to arrive at 
any other conclusion. The evidence, especially 
from Dundee and Glasgow, from Leicester, Not- 
tingham, Leeds, and Bradford, from Manchester 
and Stockport, in a word, from all the great manu- 
facturing towns, with the exception, perhaps, of 
those in the western district, in which there is 
little indication of disease produced by early and 



894 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

excessive labour, shows that grievous and incura- 
ble maladies do result in young persons from 
labour commenced in the factory at the age at 
which it is at present not uncommon to begin it, 
and continued for the number of hours during 
which it is not unusual to protract it. 

6. " From the same evidence it appears, that 
the physical evil inflicted on children by factory 
labour, when commenced as early and continued 
as long as it now is, is not the only evil sustained 
by them. From the statements and depositions 
of witnesses of all classes it appears, that even 
when the employment of children at so early an 
age, and for so many hours as is customary at 
present, produces no manifest bodily disease, yet 
in the great majority of cases it incapacitates them 
from receiving instruction. On this head the 
statements of the children themselves must be ad- 
mitted to be of some importance ; and it will be 
found that the young children very generally 
declare that they are too much fatigued to attend 
school, even when a school is provided for them. 
This is more uniformly the declaration of the chil- 
dren in the factories of Scotland than in those of 
England. The evidence of other witnesses, both 
as to the capacity of the children for receiving- 
instruction, and as to their actual state in regard 
to education, is conflicting. Few will be prepared 



THE CASE OF THE FACTORY CHILDREN, 395 

to expect the statements that will be found on 
this head in regard to Scotland, where the educa- 
tion of the children is neglected to a far greater 
extent than is commonly believed ; where only a 
very small number can write ; where, though per- 
haps the majority can read, many cannot; and 
where, with some honourable exceptions, it seems 
certain that the care once bestowed on the in- 
struction of the young has ceased to be exemplary. 
The reports of the Commissioners for Scotland, 
who will be found to have kept this subject con- 
tinually before their view, are decisive on this 
head. "Many of the persons sworn could not 
write nor sign their depositions. The reports 
mark the signatures in every case where the par- 
ties could write, I suspect the want of education 
so general on the part of these people, which has 
surprised me, is to be attributed to their being for 
so long a period of the day confined to the fac- 
tories." " The overseers of the small mills, when 
the proprietors are absent, almost uniformly, as 
the Central Board will notice, declare their aver- 
sion to the present long hours of working, as inju- 
rious to the health of the workers, and as render- 
ing their education impossible." " Still the em- 
ployment of workers in factories cannot, where 
proper regulations are attended to, be in most 
cases with propriety termed an unhealthy one ; 



S96 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

and it would therefore seem that the long confine- 
ment of labour is more injurious to them, in pre- 
venting them from being sufficiently educated, 
and of course sufficiently instructed in their moral 
duties, than in other respects. Here too, although 
there is abundance of evidence from clergymen, 
as well as from teachers, of a conflicting descrip- 
tion, I think it upon the whole impossible to doubt, 
that the young workers must be so much fatigued 
with the very long hours of labour, that they can- 
not be so fit to receive instruction as other young 
people, and that they have too little time for be- 
ing at school, even to enable them to learn to read, 
write, and to understand accounts tolerably. 
Want of education cannot fail to have an unfa- 
vourable influence on their morals. " 

" One of the great evils to which people em- 
ployed in factories are exposed is, the danger of 
receiving serious and even fatal injury from the 
machinery. It does not seem possible, by any 
precautions that are practicable, to remove this 
danger altogether. There are factories in which 
every thing is done that it seems practicable to do 
to reduce this danger to the least possible amount, 
and with such success that no serious accident 
happens for years together. By the returns which 
we have received, however, it appears that there 
are other factories, and that these are by no 



THE CASE OF THE FACTORY CHILDREN. 397 

means few in number, nor confined to the smaller 
mills, in which serious accidents are continually 
occurring, and in which, notwithstanding, dan- 
gerous parts of the machinery are allowed to 
remain unfenced. The greater the carelessness 
of the proprietors in neglecting sufficiently to 
fence the machinery, and the greater the number 
of accidents, the less their sympathy with the 
sufferers. In factories in which precaution is 
taken to prevent accidents, care is taken of the 
workpeople when they do occur, and a desire is 
shown to make what compensation may be possi- 
ble. But it appears in evidence that cases fre- 
quently occur in which the workpeople are aban- 
doned from the moment that an accident occurs ; 
their wages are stopped, no medical attendance 
is provided, and whatever the extent of the injury, 
no compensation is afforded. 

"From the whole of the evidence laid before 
us, of which we have thus endeavoured to exhibit 
the material points, we find — 

" 1st. That the children employed in all the 
principal branches of manufacture through- 
out the kingdom work during the same 
number of hours as the adults. 
" 2nd. That the effects of labour during such 
are, in a great number of cases, 
" Permanent deterioration of the physical 
constitution : 



398 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

"The production of disease often wholly 

irremediable : and 
" The partial or entire exclusion (by reason 
of excessive fatigue) from the means 
of obtaining adequate education and 
acquiring useful habits, or of profiting 
by those means when afforded. 
cc 3d. That at the age when children suffer these 
injuries from the labour they undergo, 
they are not free agents, but are let out 
to hire, the wages they earn being received 
and appropriated by their parents and 
guardians. 
" We are therefore of opinion that a case is 
made out for the interference of the Legis- 
lature in behalf of the children employed 
in factories." 

Such, then, was the result of an investigation 
carried on — not by persons prejudiced against the 
master manufacturers, but by men whose selection 
was the act of those upon whom the mill -owners 
clearly exerted considerable influence. Admit- 
ting the Commissioners to have been fairly chosen 
and to have shewn no bias towards the masters, — 
and this is a very large concession to make, — still 
it is quite certain that of any bias against the 
masters, they were wholly innocent. And their 



THE CASE OF THE FACTORY CHILDREN. 399 

report, let it be distinctly understood, fully esta- 
blished all the main propositions enunciated by 
Mr. Sadler, and shewed his proposed Bill to be, 
in the main, just and necessary. 

After such as a result as this, it was clearly im- 
possible for the government to avoid immediate 
legislation. In fact, if not too prompt, they were 
in one sense singularly hasty. A very strange 
course was taken. This commission was ap- 
pointed, professedly in order to ascertain whether 
or not an evil existed ; and also, what would be 
the best remedy to apply. Yet, oddly enough, 
after sending forth this Commission, the govern- 
ment proceeded to legislate without waiting for 
its return ! 

A Bill was brought into Parliament, and some 
progress made in it, before the Commissioners had 
returned to town, or made their report. This 
singular step seemed to indicate two things ; 
namely, first, a real anxiety, on the part of Lord 
Althorp, a man of a feeling and benevolent mind, 
to do something in a matter which he evidently 
saw to be one of clear and urgent necessity : and, 
secondly, a distinct admission, that the expedient 
of the Commission was chiefly intended to gain 
time ; and not bonajide, to obtain information. 

It would not, however, be relevant to our pre- 
sent purpose, to pursue this subject much further. 



400 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

It has been already seen that to Mr. Sadler it is 
owing, that the evil was placed in so strong and 
clear a light, as to render some movement in re- 
dress unavoidable. Had his whole parliamentary- 
life produced no other fruit this, he would not have 
entered the House of Commons in vain. 

The measure finally adopted by Lord Althorp, in 
1833, justified all the worst anticipations of the 
friends of the factory-children, It gave, it is 
true, some relief to a particular class of infants, — 
and, indeed, it would have been difficult to have 
framed any measure which should not have 
wrought some good ; — but, with its scanty mea- 
sure of protection, were combined provisos which 
deprived the labourers of divers of the safeguards 
which they had previously possessed. The pe- 
nalties affixed to convictions for cruelty were in 
many cases absurdly and unaccountably lowered, 
so as to become altogether trivial to the wealthy 
mill-owner : the period within which informations 
were required to be laid, was limited : parties hav- 
ing a collateral interest in mills, were permitted 
to sit on the bench ; and in a variety of ways, 
facilities were given for the evasion of justice. 
The appointment of Inspectors, and the greater 
degree of attention now paid to the subject by 
the press, has doubtless wrought a considerable 
improvement within the last ten years : but of 



THE CASE OF THE FACTORY CHILDREN. 401 

the Bill of 1833, it may be almost doubted whe- 
ther it were more beneficial or injurious. 

In truth, the only really effective measure would 
be that, concerning the justice and necessity of 
which, Mr. Sadler never wavered ;— a Bill for 
restricting the labour of children and young per- 
sons to ten hours per diem. Of any real and sub- 
stantial improvement in the condition of the fac- 
tory-labourers, this must be the foundation. 
Starting from any other point than this, is to be- 
gin by denying the claims of humanity ; and it 
would be an inversion of the natural order of things, 
if the setting out on a wrong path, should conduct 
at last to the right end. If our moral arithmetic 
commence by hesitating as to whether two and 
two make four, it will lead to the perversion of 
right and truth, in the affairs of thousands and 
tens of thousands. 

The common sense of mankind has long since 
decided, that twelve hours is a working man's 
day of labour ; divided between two hours for 
meals and ten for work. The proposition is, that 
little children should be protected by law, from 
being tasked with a longer day's work than the 
full-grown man. This is what the Ten Hour 
Bill asks ; — it provides for ten hours actual labour, 
leaving two for meals. When the legislature of 
England has had to deal with malefactors at home, 

2 D 



402 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

or with negro slaves abroad, it has ever admitted, 
without difficulty, this principle. It has never 
tolerated the idea, that convicts in our hulks, or 
negroes in our colonies, should be borne down 
with more than a full and fair day's labour. It is 
only to our own children, — to little girls and boys, 
born and bred up among us, untainted with any 
crime, and having the highest claim on our protec- 
tion, — that this justice is denied. It is only when 
these, worn out with ceaseless toil, their limbs 
bending and distorting under the burden, call to 
us for sympathy, — it is only to these that we turn 
a deaf ear, and exclaim, " Trade must not be 
interfered with ! " 

But their cause must finally prevail. It is the 
fashion to exclaim, almost with cuckoo-note, of 
many a nostrum in politics, " It is only a question 
of time : — sooner or later the point must be con- 
ceded." With how much more truth and reason, 
may we adopt this language in the present case ; 
and say : " The common feelings of humanity 
will not permit us to relax in our pursuit of this 
object : Persist we must, until justice be done. 
Nor can we doubt of the final result. That love 
of justice, and that sympathy for the oppressed, 
which distinguish Englishmen, afford us a certain 
hope of ultimate success. The question can only 
be one of time. There can be but one termina- 
tion of this controversy." 



THE CASE OP THE FAOTORY CHILDREN. 403 

We have also great cause to be thankful, that 
when Mr. Sadler's retirement from Parliament, 
and his failing health, rendered it impossible for 
him to do more in the cause, the duty was assu- 
med by one in every way qualified to discharge it. 
In Lord Ashley, these poor children have an 
advocate of the most single-hearted faithfulness, 
and the most unshrinking perseverance. It is, 
necessary, however, that the public support 
should be promptly and earnestly given to his 
Lordship's endeavours ; and that the case, in 
itself so clear and unanswerable, should be con- 
stantly pressed upon the notice of the legislature 

It would hardly be right to forget, in this place, 
a short and simple ballad, written by Mr. Sadler 
during the Parliamentary discussion, and founded 
entirely on a fact given in evidence before the 
Committee of which he was chairman. 

THE FACTORY GIRL'S LAST DAY. 

" 'Twas on a winter's morning, 

The weather wet and wild, 
Three hours before the dawning 

The father roused his child ; 
Her daily morsel bringing, 

The darksome room he paced, 
And cried, * The bell is ringing, 

My hapless darling, haste ! ' 

2 D 2 



404 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

' Father, I'm up, but weary, 

I scarce can reach the door, 
And long the way and dreary, — 

O carry me once more ! 
To help us we've no mother ; 

And you have no employ ; 
They killed my little brother, — 

Like him I'll work and die !' 

Her wasted form seemed nothing, — 

The load was at his heart ; 
The sufferer he kept soothing 

Till at the mill they part. 
The overlooker met her, 

As to her frame she crept, 
And with his thong he beat her, 

And cursed her as she wept. 

Alas ! what hours of horror 

Made up her latest day ; 
In toil, and pain, and sorrow, 

They slowly passed away : 
It seemed, as she grew weaker, 

The threads the oftener broke, 
The rapid wheels ran quicker, 

And heavier fell the stroke. 

The sun had long descended, 

But night brought no repose ; 
Her day began and ended 

As cruel tyrants chose. 
At length a little neighbour 

Her halfpenny she paid, 
To take her last hour's labour, 

While by her frame she laid. 



THE CASE OF THE FACTORY CHILDREN. 405 

At last, the engine ceasing-, 

The captives homeward rushed ; 
She thought her strength increasing— 

'Twas hope her spirits flushed : 
She left, but oft she tarried ; 

She fell and rose no more, 
Till, by her comrades carried, 

She reached her father's door. 

All night, with tortured feeling, 

He watched his speechless child ; 
While, close beside her kneeling, 

She knew him not, nor smiled. 
Again the factory's ringing 

Her last perceptions tried ; 
When, from her straw-bed springing, 

• Tis time ! ' she shrieked, and died ! 

That night a chariot passed her, 

While on the ground she lay ; 
The daughters of her master 

An evening visit pay : 
Their tender hearts were sighing 

As negro wrongs were told, 
While the white slave lay dying 

Who gained their father's gold ! " 

With his earnest and laborious advocacy of 
this great question, closed Mr. Sadler's public 
life. The Reform bill received the Royal Assent 
on the 7th of June, 1832 ; on the 16th of August, 
the Houses were prorogued; and on the 3rd of 
the following December, the Dissolution took 



406 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

place. The borough for which he sat, had been 
included in Schedule A, and in the next Parlia- 
ment Mr. Sadler had no seat. 

It might easily be made a ground for much 
grave reprehension of the Reform Bill, — that a 
man like Mr. Sadler, who, to a remarkable extent, 
devoted his whole time and powerful talents, — 
not to his own aggrandisement, or the further- 
ance of the views of his party ; but to the great 
object of the improvement of the condition of the 
great mass of the people, — it might, we repeat, be 
made to redound greatly to the disgrace of that 
measure, that such a man should have been, by it, 
excluded from a seat in the legislature. But, con- 
sidering dispassionately all the circumstances of 
the case, we are not inclined to lay this charge at 
the door of the Reform Bill, We believe that Mr. 
Sadler might have been returned, in the most gra- 
tifying and honourable manner, for many different 
constituencies ; had not circumstances fallen out, 
more than once or twice, in a peculiarly unfortu- 
nate manner. He was led, again and again, to de- 
cline most desirable offers, and to close with others 
which ended in failure. At the general election 
which took place in December 1832, he was 
induced, by the entreaties of great numbers of his 
neighbours, to offer himself for his own town of 
Leeds, then just enfranchised. In their eyes, and 



CLOSE OF HIS PUBLIC LIFE. 407 

in the eyes of all the better part of the community, 
their town would have been greatly honored by 
the acquisition of such a representative. By 
these solicitations he was induced to neglect other 
offers, more than one of which was of a promising 
character. But the contest for Leeds, though gal- 
lantly fought, never presented more than a faint 
hope of success. In the way of his success, as a 
candidate, there were peculiar difficulties. Al- 
though his efforts in behalf of the poor, and 
especially in behalf of the Factory-children, had 
enlisted a warm feeling in his favor among the 
working classes ; yet these, unfortunately, could 
offer him but few votes. On the other hand, the 
great manufacturers, whose influence in such a town 
as Leeds must necessarily be quite the predominant 
one, were for the most part alienated from him, by 
those very efforts which had gained him friends 
among the poor. His Bill for the protection of the 
infant labourers was regarded by them as a mea- 
sure of restriction and annoyance, and almost of 
pains and penalties; and its provisions were consi- 
dered to be levelled directly against them. It natu- 
rally, therefore, became a prominent, if not an 
avowed object with many of them, to keep its 
author and principal promoter out of parliament. 
The bitterest animosity was exhibited towards 



408 LIFE OP MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

him.* The Whig and Dissenting interest of the 
town thus became really, though silently streng- 
thened by the aid of many who were actuated by 
the lowest and most degraded personal motives. 
And the contest ended in Mr. Sadler's obtaining 
1596 votes, while his competitor, Mr. Macaulay, 
received 1984. 

* As one instance of this, we copy the following public apo- 
logy, advertised in May 1833, in the Leeds papers, by two of 
his principal local antagonists, 

"Public Notice." 

" A Paragraph headed " Caution to Manufacturers," having 
" appeared in the Leeds Mercury of the 18th inst. imputing to 
" a gentleman (Mr. S.) late Candidate for the Representation 
" of this Borough, that he had threatened a Manufacturer in the 
"following words, — viz. — " Sir, if I met you on a dark night, 
" with a pistol in my hand, I would shoot you," and having 
" received from that gentlemen, an assurance that we gave an 
" entirely false representation of the conversation ; we have 
" made such enquiries, as have satisfied us that the imputation 
" conveyed by the paragraph, is wholly false ; and we beg 
" therefore to apologize to him, for the insertion of the para- 
" graph, and to express our regret that we have been led by the 
" information we had received to publish it." 

" We were prepared to have given a further public expression 
" of our regret for the injury which such a paragraph was 
" calculated to inflict on his character ; but have to acknowledge 
" his forbearance in waving it." 

Edward Baines & Son. 

Proprietors and Publishers of the Leeds Mercury ." 

"Leeds, May 22. 1833." 



CLOSE OF HIS PUBLIC LIFE. 409 

Thus was Mr. Sadler sent back into private life. 
But the want of his presence in the house of Com- 
mos was so generally felt by great numbers of the 
people, in every part of the kingdom, that on every 
opportunity schemes were agitated, for again call- 
ing him from his retirement. Marylebone was one 
among several constituencies so applying. But he 
acceded to none of these entreaties until the 
opening of the year 1834. At that period the two 
boroughs of Leeds and Huddersfield each besought 
him to become a candidate. For a short time he 
hesitated, — Leeds seeming to have the prior claim ; 
but Huddersfield appearing to offer a certainty of 
success. The constituency was but small; the 
town was treated as a nomination-borough by the 
chief proprietor, Sir John Ramsden, and both 
Tories and Radicals desired to throw off his yoke, 
The union of these two parties would have given 
a clear majority of the electors; and they offered 
to combine, to return Mr. Sadler. Upon this un- 
derstanding Mr. Sadler relinquished all thoughts 
of standing for Leeds, and accepted their invitation. 
Suddenly, however, on the very eve of the election, 
the Radicals deserted him, started a candidate of 
their own, and thus ensured the success of Sir 
John Ramsden 's nominee. The poll closed with 
these numbers, 



410 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

Mr. Blackburne. 234 

Mr. Sadler. 147 

Capt. Wood. 108 

And thus, a second time, Mr. Sadler was foiled 

in his purpose of reentering Parliament. After 

this he never again became a candidate. 

The general election which took place in Janu- 
ary 1835, brought him anew, a variety of appli- 
cations. The people of Birmingham were particu- 
larly urgent ; but from South Durham he received 
offers of support from quarters which could have 
ensured success. At this period, however, his 
health had decidedly given way, and the disorder 
which ultimately ended his life, was already mak- 
ing rapid inroads on his constitution. He was 
therefore obliged, however reluctantly, to concede 
to the representations of his medical advisers, and 
to return a negative answer to all applications of 
this description. 

In May 1834, having paid a visit to Belfast, at 
which place the firm with which he was connected 
had extensive works, he was greatly pleased with 
the town and neighbourhood, and resolved on fix- 
ing his future residence there. Here the short re- 
mainder of his life was spent, — chiefly in projecting 
and carrying forward various literary plans, connect- 
ed with the great subject which was ever uppermost 
in his mind,— the wrongs and the necessities of 



CLOSE OF HIS PUBLIC LIFE. 411 

the labouring poor. The advances of disease, 
however, prevented the completion of any of them. 
Two of these, of which he had sketched the out- 
line, would have been of great and lasting value. 
The one was, an address to the people of England, 
on the Rights and Wrongs of the Poor ; — intended 
to exhibit the gradual, but unceasing encroach- 
ments of Capital upon Industry, during especially 
the last three or four centuries. 

The other was, a Commentary on the National 
Institutions given by Moses, under Divine inspira- 
tion, to the Jews. On some of the leading ideas 
of this work, we may, perhaps, hereafter venture 
to dilate. In the remaining chapters, our chief 
duty will be, to exhibit Mr. Sadler's views and 
principles on one or two important topics which 
have not yet been adverted to, 



CHAPTER XIL 



THE NEW POOR LAW OF 1834. 

It now becomes our duty, in endeavouring to 
sketch an outline of Mr. Sadler's character and 
principles, to explain, before we pass on to the 
termination of our narrative, his views on one or 
two subjects of paramount importance, which 
occupied his thoughts in the interim between his 
leaving Parliament, and the close of his life. 
Among these, perhaps the most prominent, and 
that which most intensely agitated his mind, was, 
the Act for the Amendment of the Poor Laws of 
England, proposed by Lord Althorp, and carried 
through Parliament in the year 1834. No other 
subject could have so deeply interested him ; and 
no other discussion would have caused equal 
regrets at his seclusion from Parliament. His cor- 
respondence at this period shewed how entirely 



THE NEW POOR LAW. 413 

his mind was occupied with the question ; and how 
repugnant the leading features of the new measure 
were, to every feeling of his soul. 

In alluding to this subject it is necessary to 
guard against misconstruction and misrepresenta- 
tion, on two or three preliminary points. Mr. 
Sadler never thought, and never would have said, 
that the existing law, as it stood in 1834, covered 
as it was, with patches and excrescences, many of 
which had been fabricated in a Malthusian spirit, 
— he never would have argued that the law as it 
stood was perfect and faultless ; still less would 
he have denied that in its administration, particu- 
larly in some agricultural districts, it had been 
rendered odious by the introduction of divers 
gross abuses. That a very great change was abso- 
lutely required, is fully admitted, and dwelt upon 
at some length, in his lectures on the Poor Laws, 
already adverted to, the MS. of which now lies 
before us. That the government of 1834, then, did 
right in grappling with the subject, and in boldly 
proposing a searching and extensive measure, may 
be readily and fully conceded. This admission, 
however, forms no justification of their having pro- 
posed what in itself was positively wrong. A 
necessity for doing something cannot be admitted 
to be identical with a necessity for doing mischief. 

In the next place Mr. Sadler would doubtless 



414 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

have readily admitted, the personal humanity and 
good intentions of the propounder of the measure, 
Lord Al thorp, and some of its chief promoters. 
Among the names subscribed to the Report which 
introduced and recommended the measure, were 
those of two prelates of the highest character. 
Nor ought we to forget that in all they said and 
did on this question, they only acted precisely as 
one of the brightest ornaments of the Scottish 
church would have counselled ;— they only carried 
out a portion of the plans and recommendations of 
Dr. Chalmers! These considerations cannot, 
indeed, change right into wrong, or induce us to 
give up the word of God for the dogmas of Mr. 
Malthus ; but they should teach us moderation in 
censure, and caution in its application. We may 
feel assured that these great and good men were 
wrong, — lamentably wrong, — but their support of 
even the atrocities of Malthus should teach us 
*' not to be high-minded, but rather to fear." If 
they have erred, who among the sons of men can 
claim to be infallible ? 

And, while we are thus discharging the duty of 
just concession, let us add, — what Mr. Sadler did 
not live long enough to witness, — that it is unques- 
tionably true that in many individual parishes and 
districts, great benefits have followed the introduc- 
tion of the new system, A reasonable and reflect- 



THE NEW POOR LAW, 415 

ing man will understand that this admission is not 
at all inconsistent with an utter disapproval of the 
system as a whole. To grant that a tyrant, — as 
in the recent case of the French usurper, — may 
achieve many great and admirable works, — in no 
w r ay disturbs our verdict, either against despotism 
in the abstract, or against the individual tyrant 
in particular. There were, unhappily, in 1833, 
several parishes, perhaps we might say many 
parishes in England, in which by long misman- 
agement ; by forcing all the labourers into pau- 
perism ; by putting them up to auction, week by 
week ; and by depriving honest industry of all mo- 
tive and all reward, — the whole mass of the 
labourers had become hopeless, reckless, and 
destitute alike of energy and all self-respect. 
In such a state of things almost any possible change 
must have operated an immediate improvement. 
We have seen instances in which, by at once draw- 
ing the line between the labourer and the pauper ; 
and compelling the latter class to seclude them- 
selves within the walls of the Workhouse, while 
all who remained free, were enabled to demand 
and to obtain at least wages enough to support their 
existence, — we have seen instances, we repeat, in 
which even the mere introduction of this simple 
and obvious rule has at once revolutionized a whole 
village. Under the former system, all were 



416 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

receiving parish pay ; all were half-idle ; careless, 
thankless, and ready for any evil purpose. Under 
the new one, those who laboured, were paid by 
those for whom they laboured; eat the bread 
which they themselves had earned ; were furnish- 
ed, by those who hired them, with sufficient occu- 
pation ; and had thus been raised no inconsidera- 
ble step in the scale of society ; while on the 
other hand, those who were compelled to claim pa- 
rochial relief, were shut up from the public gaze, 
and suffered the privation of a portion of their own 
freedom. Thus the pauper was no longer an idle 
stroller in the market-place; but, if not utterly 
incapacitated, or utterly worthless, he became an- 
xious to gain employment, and glad to escape from 
the ranks of pauperism. 

We readily admit, then, the absolute necessity 
which existed, for a change ; the unquestionable 
philanthropy of several of those who counselled, 
and especially of the nobleman who proposed the 
new system ; and also the great benefits which 
have, in many places, instantly followed its adop- 
tion. And yet, notwithstanding all this, we must 
maintain, with Mr. Sadler, that the New Poor 
Law was a cruel and unjustifiable enactment. 

1. It was conceived in a wrong spirit. 

This was especially observable in the Report of 
certain commissioners of enquiry, whose repre- 



THE NEW POOR LAW. 417 

sentations, when laid upon the table of Parliament, 
became the basis upon which the measure itself 
was founded. 

The duty of these Commissioners was abun- 
dantly clear. Their first object should have been, 
to discover in what districts the existing law 
worked satisfactorily ; and what were the features 
which especially characterized those districts. 
They should then have contrasted these with other 
parishes, in which a different and an unsatisfac- 
tory state of things prevailed ; and they should 
have carefully searched out the causes of the differ- 
ence. In this way, and in this way only, they 
would have made the path clear to a real and 
practical improvement of the whole system. 

Had they taken this obvious course, they would 
have found certain parishes in England in which 
pauperism scarcely had any existence ; in which 
the contribution paid by the rich was so light as 
to be quite trivial ; and in which the poor, with- 
out any considerable aid from the wealthy, were 
all comfortable and happy. And they would have 
found the main cause of all this to be, that the 
landlord, in each instance, felt and acted towards 
the poor as a fellow-creature " of the same blood :" 
That he cared for them ; and loved to see them hap- 
py: That he took care that each should have a com- 
fortable dwelling ; with a sufficient garden ; thus 

2 E 



418 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

affording them present comfort, and holding out a 
possibility of advancement ; while hope excited 
industry ; and kindness rewarded good conduct. 

But such facts as these were not sought out by 
these Commissioners ; or rather, we should say, 
they were positively avoided. The Malthusian sys- 
tem utterly contemned all kindness to the poor, as 
tending to encourage the growth of a " surplus 
population." Dr. Chalmers had already ridiculed 
"the cottage-and-cow-system," and accordingly, 
whenever that system came in the way of the 
Commissioners, it was invariably slighted, or 
misrepresented. 

The following passages from a periodical work 
which appeared in 1833, very shortly after the pub- 
lication of this Report, will spare us the trouble of 
going more at length into this part of the question. 

" The Poor-law Commission was well described, 
a few months back, in Cobbetfs Magazine, in the 
following passage : — 

" These men have gone off, bearing with them a 
fund of philosophical prejudice against poor-laws, 
■ population,' ' improvident marriages*- and all the 
whole system and routine of nature ; and their 
object has been to furnish the grounds for imputing 
all sorts of crimes to the labouring people ; 
grounds for calling them idle, malicious, improvi- 



THE NEW POOR LAW. 419 

dent, riotous, fraudulent, and prolific ; for calling 
the old-fashioned overseer, unskilful, incautious, 
and unworthy of trust ; for charging the magis- 
trates with unnecessary profuseness ; and for the 
other purpose of connecting all these bad results 
with the unavoidable practice of the poor-laws. 
We believe there are two classes of persons who 
would hunt down our poor and our poor-laws to- 
gether. The first is, that class who suffer in their 
pockets from poor-laws ; who have pawned their 
property to the fundholders ; and have had the en- 
gagement doubled by Peel's bill ; these find that 
there is nothing left for them so long as the poor 
have their share of the produce of the earth, and 
the fundholders have their share. This makes 
people of property wince under the burden of the 
poor-rates. The other class consists of frantic 
speculators, who live for the greater part in Lon- 
don ; and have become ' possessed of a devil,' — an 
idea that the earth does not, and cannot, produce 
food enough for us who are upon it ; and who have 
found that little children are the greatest of curses ; 
that early marriages are among the greatest of 
crimes ; that to give the means of existence is to 
give a ' stimulus to population ; ' that laws for the 
relief of the poor, which have been in existence 
upwards of two hundred years, have, within the 
last forty, begun to make the labouring people first 

2 E 2 



420 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

poor, then idle, then prolific, then fraudulent, then 
riotous, and that they are proceeding to lead to 
no one knows what, unless they be timely checked 
by laws founded upon the suggestions of this set of 

Commissioners." 

# # # # # 

"In this strong and pernicious bias (ofthe Com- 
missioners,) we find merely what we had previously 
expected. But, certainly, in their official acts we 
meet with a more unblushing manifestation of that 
bias than we could have calculated upon. The whole 
volume of " Evidence published by authority," is 
nothing more or less than a broad, open, barefaced 
attempt to establish certain assumptions of the Mal- 
thus party, by evidence picked and culled with the 
greatest care, and from which is excluded with 
equal anxiety, all the principal facts which would 
tend to destroy those assumptions. 

" One of the most vital questions, as it regards 
the peasantry of England, that can possibly be 
named at the present moment, is that of " Cottage 
Allotments.'" We, on our part, are perfectly satis- 
fied of their great utility. But we are aware that 
some persons of intelligence and respectability 
have taken up a different view. We are therefore 
quite willing that the facts of the case should be 
inquired into ; only desiring a fair and impartial 
investigation, and being ready to abide the issue. 



THE NEW POOR LAW. 421 

" But how have these Commissioners conducted 
this enquiry ? Scores, nay hundreds, of cases 
might have been met with, in which this method 
of ameliorating the condition of the poor has been 
adopted, and in which the results might have been 
ascertained. Especially, and above all others, 
ought they to have reported the facts connected 
with Mr. Estcourt's estates ; on which estates, by 
means of this very system, the poor-rates, in a 
parish of 3,000 acres, had been reduced to 17 11. 
in 1829, although in 1801 they had been 332/. 

"But no ! this would have ill-suited their purpose. 
The Board itself, and its agents, the travelling 
Commissioners, are all of the same opinion with 
the amiable Miss Harriet Martineau, — namely, 
that " cottage allotments are very bad things ;" 
for that " nothing tends so much to increase popu- 
lation." Therefore their eyes were closed against 
a multitude of similar cases, and they do not 
allude to the subject, in the whole of their volu- 
minous " extracts," above four or five times. 

" These few times, however, they could scarcely 
avoid its introduction. But how do they handle 
the facts which are presented to them ? In a very 
curious manner ; in a manner curious for its men- 
dacity and effrontery. 

" Immediately we opened the volume we turned 
instinctively to this point. We knew that the 



4f22 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

Allotment system was pre-eminently hated and 
dreaded by the Malthusians, and we naturally felt 
a little curiosity to see how they would deal with 
the facts which would every where present them- 
selves, at variance with their favorite theory. We 
found that the volume opened with an Index; which 
is not quite the ordinary arrangement, as indexes 
are usually placed at the end. But we soon dis- 
covered the object of this innovation. This index 
is both descriptive and explanatory, and not only 
informs the reader what he may expect to find on 
any given page, but also what deductions he ought 
to draw from the facts therein contained. Beyond 
doubt, it is the most officious and didactic " index" 
that we ever had the good or ill fortune to en- 
counter. 

16 Under the head of " Cottage Allotments/* 
we found, as we expected, a " plentiful lack" of 
information. The topic, all-important as it was, 
was only alluded to four or five times. Among 
these notices, in the index, we observed the two 
following : — - 

" Small gardens for the mere occupation of after- 
hours, as a mere amusement, morally good ; 41." 

" Ultimate bad effects of large allotments, hid- 
den by small immediate advantages ; 16, 40, 43." 

" So said the index. We turned to the pages 
i( 41, 16, 40, 43 ;" and were certainly not a little 



THE NEW POOR LAW. 423 

astonished— even knowing, as we did, the lengths 
to which "economists" will sometimes go, — to find 
that all the important matter described in this ar- 
gumentative index, was neither more nor less than 
a downright fabrication ! Certain facts are said 
to be stated in certain pages of the work ; but 
when you turn to those pages, no such facts are 
there, nor anything in the least resembling them. 
" The index tells you, that at page 41, small 
gardens for mere amusement are proved to be good. 
The fact is, that at page 4 1 , not a word is said of 
small gardens, or of mere amusement, but, on the 
contrary, allotments of land are shewn to be really 
useful and valuable to the poor as means of sub- 
sistence. At the other three pages, you are in- 
structed to expect something about the" ultimate 
bad effects ;" but when you turn to those pages you 
find not a single syllable of the kind ; — not a word 
about any bad effects whatever ! " Small imme- 
diate advantages" are spoken of in the index, and 
when you read the page referred to, you find that 
these " small advantages" consist in a great re- 
duction of the poor-rates, even in the short space 
of two years ; and an entire change in the conduct 
and character of the poor, converting them from 
miserable incendiaries into a comfortable and in- 
dustrious peasantry, ready to guard instead of des- 
troying their master's property. These are the 



424 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

things which this index-maker calls " small ad- 
vantages." And this is the sort of " Report" 
which the nation is to pay for, and which it is to be 
insulted by seeing " published by authority." 

This brief example sufficiently exhibited the ani- 
mus of the Commission : And this animus governed 
the whole proceeding, down to the final enact- 
ment of the Bill ; and onward to the constitution 
of the Board, and its general system, as gradually 
matured and carried out. Two grand errors were 
perceptible throughout : Theory, and that a most 
false and baseless theory, was consulted instead 
of fact : and the chief reliance of the framers of 
the measure, for the governance of the poor, was 
placed upon Fear, rather than upon Hope. But 
this leads us to observe, that 

2. The new system proceeded, in its dealings 
with the poor, upon a wrong principle. 

In Mr. Sadler's Lectures on the Poor Laws, 
delivered in Leeds in the year 1825, of which we 
have already spoken, he both fully recognized the 
evils of the existing system; and also indicated the 
true way in which the poor ought to be dealt with. 

"That idleness has resulted, and to a great ex- 
tent, from the Poor Laws as they have been adminis- 
tered, I shall not attempt to deny ; that it is one 
of the greatest demoralizers of human beings is 



THE NEW POOR LAW. 425 

equally incontrovertible ; hence it is hardly possi- 
ble to overrate the pernicious consequences that 
have ensued. But these might have been avoided 
in many cases, even under the present system, 
which I acknowledge to be very defective on 
this point, especially in reference to the exist- 
ing state of society. Instead of which, the paro- 
chial officers, as the easiest method of getting 
through their temporary duties, have too frequently 
supported the poor when out of employment, with- 
out setting them to labour ; and have thereby offer- 
ed such a temptation — indeed, literally speaking, 
bounty, — to idleness, as it is impossible for human 
nature, in many cases 5 to withstand. Add to this; 
the practice, especially in agricultural districts, of 
eking out wages absolutely insufficient for sub- 
sistence, by parochial additions ; and furthermore, 
the improper interference of the Magistrates, in 
innumerable instances, with the duties of the 
parochial officer, either from mistaken humanity 
or more questionable motives ; so as to destroy at 
once the proper authority as well as mutual feeling 
which should subsist, between the two ranks of a 
parish ; and we perceive the degradation to which 
the whole system has been unjustly sunk ; till its 
very principle is rendered obnoxious to numbers of 
the community. 

" Having now pointed out the evils, whether 



426 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

necessarily or accidentally attaching themselves 
to our present system, I proceed to the far more 
important and difficult part of my subject, that of 
proposing adequate remedies; without doing which, 
I feel that all that I have previously advanced 
would be worse than useless, and could not even 
have the apology of having been dictated by a 
proper or benevolent motive. 

" The disease of this system, as has been stated, 
is the confounding in one mass, the deserving, and 
the profligate or idle poor; and, by treating all 
alike, extinguishing the hope, if not the possibility, 
of the former ever distinguishing themselves from 
the latter. The remedy, therefore, can only be 
found in the restoration of some motives, the exhi- 
bition of some advantages, to those who would then, 
in many instances at least, rise again in character 
and in condition ; and with themselves would as 
certainly elevate the mass of that numerous and 
interesting class. 

" I therefore lay it down as my initiatory maxim, 
that in any attempt to better the character and 
condition of the poor, you must present to them 
some motive beyond mere argument ; the disinte- 
restedness of which they will always justly ques- 
tion, and which alone, will never generally or 
ultimately produce any beneficial effect. The 
plan proposed may be never so promising : the 



THE NEW POOR LAW. 427 

theory as beautiful and well-proportioned in all its 
parts as the creative wisdom of man can make it ; 
but if it have not Hope, as its inspiring principle, 
it can never move ; it can never live." 

Nothing more true, nothing more certain, was 
ever uttered ; and in the present case the predic- 
tion has been instantly and entirely fulfilled. Not- 
withstanding the good which the wholesome seve- 
rity of the new law has in many districts effected ; 
and which we shall not for an instant attempt to 
deny; — still, as a whole, and viewing the country 
as one mass, it must be admitted to have substanti- 
ally failed ; inasmuch as instead of having satisfied 
the poor themselves, or having attached them to 
the institutions of the country, — it has created a 
deep and settled disgust, from one end of the 
country to the other ; and forms, at this instant, 
one of the greatest grounds of disquietude, in the 
minds of those who are acquainted with the work- 
ing-classes, and know their feelings and their senti- 
ments. Such are fully aware, that instead of 
helping to bind together in unity and confidence, 
the different classes of the community, the new 
system has vastly augmented the alienation and 
distrust which before existed. And the root of all 
this mischief, is,— that the law proceeds by force, 
not kindness ; that it appeals to the motive of 
Fear, not to that of Hope ; and that it offers no- 



428 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

thing, provides nothing, gives nothing, to the poor 
man ; but rather takes away. 

Every one now understands, that this law is 
generally regarded with aversion by those who are 
likely to fall under its operation ; and that to re- 
enact it in its full extent, would be to risque the 
peace and tranquillity of the realm. But perhaps 
we may reasonably be expected to go beyond these 
generalities ; and to point out those features in the 
system, as usually put in operation, which render it 
hateful to a large part of the population. In an 
instance or two, merely as an example, we will 
endeavour to do so. 

Among the Jirst points of objection to the new 
system, may be named, The great extent of the 
unions formed under it ; from which massing toge- 
ther of large districts, many evils inevitably spring. 

One abuse which the framers of the Bill naturally 
desired to abate, was the absolute and ill-used 
power, which, in small agricultural parishes, ne- 
cessarily fell into the hands of a few large farmers. 
To guard against their despotic acts, it was 
thought advisable to form Boards of Guardians, by 
calling together one or two representatives of some 
twelve or twenty parishes, and thus constituting a 
more numerous body, by which it was supposed 
that all unjust or illegal acts would be avoided. 

Had these Unions been made smaller, — say of 



THE NEW POOR LAW. 429 

six parishes each ; and had the resident pastor 
of each parish been made an ex-officio member, 
together with every inhabitant householder whose 
dwelling was rated at 50£ per annum, — the pro- 
bability is, that great good would have resulted. 
More public spirit, more Christian sympathy, and 
more pecuniary liberality would have been intro- 
duced into the management of the poor; the 
labouring classes would have felt their condition 
improved ; and by that feeling their regard for the 
institutions of the nation would have been sensibly 
augmented. 

But a board consisting of twenty farmers, one 
from each of twenty parishes, even though two or 
three magistrates should add their names, and 
sometimes give their attendance, is scarcely an 
improvement on the older Select Vestry system. 
Very little "fresh blood" is introduced. The 
same " separate caste" spirit still prevails. The 
personal knowledge of, and sympathy for, each 
individual pauper, is far less than before. The 
aggregate, too, of labour, imposed upon the Board, 
is vastly increased ; and of course the work is more 
hastily and cursorily done. 

One bad consequence connected with this exces- 
sive extent of the Unions, consists in the inevitable 
hardships thereby inflicted on the poor. Not only 
does a poor labourer, reduced to want, lose nearly 



430 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

all the advantage of previous character, in being 
obliged to appeal for sympathy to a board con- 
sisting chiefly of strangers ; but in many cases 
frightful suffering is inevitably caused, by the dis- 
tance of the place of relief, from the persons to be 
relieved. 

" A man starving for food applies to the over- 
seer for assistance ; he is told to make an applica- 
tion to the board of guardians. To effect that pur- 
pose, this poor creature has to walk a distance of 
twelve miles. Owing to the pauper having miscal- 
culated his time, he arrives too late ; he finds the 
board broken up, and he is compelled to retrace 
his weary steps without having received even a 
promise of relief." * 

A second ground of complaint is found in the ex- 
tent to which the separation of children from pa- 
rents, and husbands from wives, has been carried. 

No one will contend, that an idle man and wo- 
man, in the prime of life, are to be taken into the 
workhouse, there to live in indolence and breed 
paupers. But why extend this prohibition to aged 
couples, who having lived in industry and harmony 
for 30 or 40 years, are now reduced to poverty, 
and find their sole remaining comfort in each other's 
society ? What is it but pure gratuitous cruelty, to 

* Debate in the House of Commons, Sept. 28, 1841. 



THE NEW POOR LAW. 431 

insist upon tearing them from each other, for no 
conceivable public end ? 

So of mothers, and their young children. Con- 
ceding that at a certain age, boys and girls should 
be sent to school or to labour, still, where is the 
utility of taking the very young, and even infants 
from the breast, and cooping them up apart from 
their mothers ? 

A third grievance has arisen from the refusal of 
out-door relief ; or in the diminution of such re- 
lief to a point which is tantamount to half-starva- 
tion. The recent modifications agreed upon by 
the commissioners, may reduce the hardship first 
alluded to, — but the penuriousness of the relief 
given, will, it is to be feared, still continue. What 
is it but cruelty to force a poor old woman, — as is 
often done, — to drag her weary limbs, some twelve 
or fourteen miles, going and returning, merely to re- 
ceive a single loaf as her whole allowance for a week! 

While this page is before us, the following sam- 
ples of the working of the new system offer them- 
selves. " On Sunday week, at the parish of Brans- 
by, near Stow, William Presswood, a labourer and 
cottager, was found by his wife in a shed near to 
his house, hanging to a beam ; her screams were 
heard by Mr. Tayler, the constable, who imme- 
diately ran to the place, and cut the poor man 
down, but life was quite extinct. Mr. Hitchins 



432 LIFE OP MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

held an inquest on the body on Monday. The 
picture of real distress which presented itself was 
of the most painful nature, the widow in the agony 
of despair, surrounded by seven children, the eld- 
est not more than ten years of age. The evidence 
went to show, that the deceased was an industri- 
ous, honest, and persevering man, who was desi- 
rous, if possible, of bringing up his family by the 
labour of his own hands. Some time back, he 
was afflicted by Providence with an illness which 
deprived him of the power of working. He appli- 
ed reluctantly for relief ; he belonged to Welton, 
in the Lincoln Union, but he lived out of the union, 
and in that of Gainsborough. It being- a case of 
emergency, Gainsborough gave him relief, but on 
his getting better, the relief was taken off, and the 
deceased and his family were left in a state of des- 
titution; he applied to Lincoln Union, but having 
a cow, which by industry he had saved, and a pig, 
which was to support his family, the test, the work- 
house, was applied, and he and his wife and seven 
children came into the workhouse. After a time 
they again went out, but no further relief was given 
them, — the deceased struggled hard against ad- 
verse fortune, but as one of the witnesses express- 
ed it, " the iron had struck deep into his soul," 
and he could not get over the degradation of ha- 
ving been in the workhouse ; it preyed upon his 



THE NEW POOR LAW. 433 

mind, and at length he fell a victim. — The jury, in 
recording their verdict of Insanity, expressed it as 
their unanimous opinion, that if the parish of Wel- 
ton had contributed even a little to assist him, he 
might have overcome the difficulty, and have been 
still the protector of his now destitute family."* 

A second case is as follows ; — 

ce Mary Lane, aged 25, has recently been left 
a widow, with two boys ; one two years old, the 
second ten weeks old : the eldest of them being a 
cripple. The mother is a woman of unquestion- 
ably good character. At the sitting of the Board 
of Guardians of the Hampnett union, this widow 
applied for the small allowance of 2s. per week ; 
with the aid of which she could maintain herself 
and her two children. The application was refu- 
sed, and an order of admission to the house ten- 
dered, instead of any allowance, however small. 
The effect of this would be, that the elder boy, 
the cripple, would be parted from his mother en- 
tirely : the younger would be brought to her three 
times a day to be suckled, till the time for weaning 
should come : and the mother herself would be 
thrown into the promiscuous mass of the inmates." f 

A third instance is to the following effect : — 

In the parish of Donnington, Berkshire, before 

* Boston Herald, July 6, 1841. 
f Correspondent of the Times, Oct. 28, 1841. 

2 F 



434 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

a coroner's inquest, Harriet Alder stated, " My 
husband had only been able to do a day's work 
this summer, being so ill. For that he received 
a shilling. That was the last time he went to 
work. Having a child myself, of eleven weeks 
old, besides others, I was not able to go out. My 
husband went to the relieving-officer three or 
four times within the last six weeks, and stated 
the distress we were in, but was refused relief. 
He went again last Friday, and got an order for 
two gallons of bread. On Tuesday I went to the 
board of guardians, and received an order to go 
into the house on Saturday next, Oct. 9. On the 
Thursday my husband died." The verdict was, 
" That Alder's death was accelerated by the want 
of the common necessaries of life. " # 

Now we feel no hesitation in declaring our con- 
viction, that the harshness shewn in all these cases, 
and which is as unwise, as it is unfeeling, — belongs 
to the new system. Such things seldom, if ever, 
took place under the old law ;— now, it is to be fear- 
ed that they are far from being of rare occurrence. 

A fourth evil, of a very serious description, con- 
sists in the shameful manner in which the health of 
the indigent poor is (nominally) provided for. This 
feature in the case is also important as betokening 

* Times, Oct. 20, 1841. 



THE NEW POOR LAW. 4<35 

the lowered moral feeling of the " Union, " com- 
pared with the " Parish." Formerly, when each 
parish provided itself with a medical officer whose 
duty it was to attend on the poor, the provision 
made was generally a fair and proper one ; sup- 
plying an effective superintendence of the health of 
the poorer classes, and remunerating the officer 
employed, in an equitable manner. 

But the general practice of the " Unions" pre- 
sents an entire contrast to the proper feeling 
before apparent. Both parties, — the poor, and 
the medical profession, — suffer greatly from the 
change, Animated by a senseless rage for " eco- 
nomy," derived from the central Board at Somer- 
set House, the Unions have generally adopted 
the cruel and irrational plan of taking "the lowest 
tender." How many of the Guardians would like 
to provide their own families with medical atten- 
dance after this fashion ? 

The working of this new system was thus de- 
scribed in a recent debate in the House of Com- 
mons : 

" In former times the poor man could easily 
obtain medical assistance when it was needed. 
If the man was honest, industrious, and deserv- 
ing, his neighbours were always ready to afford 
him every assistance, without the necessity of 
applying to the overseers or guardians of the poor. 

2 f 2 



436 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

The parish doctor was on the spot, and was al- 
ways willing to give his advice in cases of illness. 
If these happy days are ever to be restored, the 
preliminary step must be to restore parochial go- 
vernment, but in such a manner as to obviate 
the abuses which existed under the old system. 
The present Unions are so large and extensive, 
that it is quite impossible for the poor to obtain the 
necessary relief in cases of sickness. Take a sin- 
gle instance : — In the Basford Union, a medical 
gentleman, who has only recently passed his ex- 
amination as a medical practitioner, holds two 
districts, consisting of 12 different parishes, in- 
cluding a population of 12,410 persons (according 
to the census taken ten years ago, since which it 
has considerably increased), situate in an agri- 
cultural and manufacturing country ; the salary 
which he receives for fulfilling the medical duties 
in the whole of those two districts being only 87/. 
a year. He resides at Bulwell, and before he 
reaches three of the parishes — namely, Wood- 
borough (population 717), Lambley (population 
690), and Calverton (population 1,064) each of 
which is seven miles distant from his own resi- 
dence — he passes, in order to visit his patients, 
through Arnold, containing 3,572 persons, at a 
distance of four miles ; and in Arnold there resides 
a legally-qualified medical gentleman, who has 



THE NEW POOR LAW. 437 

practised there for at least 23 years, a man of 
excellent conduct, and I believe universally re- 
spected. He has a strong objection to the ''tender'' 
system, which he has pledged himself never to 
adopt. He attended, several years previous to the 
formation of the union, the parishes of Arnold. 
Calverton, and Woodborough ; and applications 
have since been made to him for a renewal of his 
services, but the "tender" system forms the objec- 
tion to his consenting. He held one district in 
the Union for three years, but finding that the 
amount of remuneration was inadequate to the 
duties required of him, he resigned it ; and be- 
cause he would not tender, the district was award- 
ed to an unqualified person ; who, after three 
months' trial, was dismissed for incompetency 
and neglect of duty. The district is now held by 
the young man above referred to, who has just 
commenced practice, and who already holds ano- 
ther district in the same union. The extreme 
parishes of the two districts are at least 12 miles 
asunder ; so that if a patient living at either of the 
three parishes requires medical attendance, he 
has to send seven miles for the medical officer, 
which will, in urgent cases, require a distance 
of 14 miles to be travelled, almost daily, and fre- 
quently a distance of 28 miles (if two visits be 
required in a day), before medicines can be ob- 



438 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

tained, and supplied to the sick person." " It is 
important that the poor should receive medical 
relief with the least possible delay. In many cases 
of accident, such as fractures, wounds, rupture 
of blood-vessels, or inflammations, delay is fatal. 
The difference of five minutes often, in such cases, 
made all the distinctions between life and death."* 

So serious a grievance is this, and so vast must 
be the injury inflicted on the poor by thus stint- 
ing them in medical aid, that it may be questioned 
whether this one disadvantage does not more than 
counterbalance all the advantages which may fair- 
ly be admitted to have occurred from the new 
system. 

In these four particulars, then, among others, 
for we have scarcely glanced over the subject, — 
the new law acts prejudically and injuriously to- 
wards the poor. But not the poor only have ground 
of complaint ; for we must consider that 

3. It unnecessarily, and therefore unjustifiably, 
intrenches on the principle of self-government. 

This is a point worthy of the consideration of 
any man aspiring to the character of a Statesman. 
All who really merit that title will be quite sen- 
sible, that it is not merely their duty to tolerate 
the existence of liberty among the people of this 
country ; but rather, that it should be their pride 

* Debate in the House of Commons, Sept, 28, 1841. 



THE NEW POOR LAW. 439 

and pleasure to foster and encourage it. The de- 
cay of a spirit of freedom would be inevitably ac- 
companied by a similar decay of all that is noble, 
or that leads to national greatness or happiness. 
Now a main element and preserving cause of 
the spirit of freedom, is found in the extensive use 
of plans and systems of self -government. A 
tyranny undertakes to do every thing for the peo- 
ple, save their daily toil. It tells them to mind 
their plough and their loom ; while it guards their 
streets, and cleanses their sewers. But a free 
government knows it to be both right and wise, to 
give the people as much public business to do, and 
as much influence and authority in the regulation 
of their own local government, as it is possible 
for them conveniently to undertake and to exer- 
cise. While everything, therefore, which cannot 
be local, but in which the whole commonwealth 
must be dealt with and provided for at once, — as 
the Army, the Navy, the Church, the Law, — is 
undertaken by the Executive Government ; every- 
thing which the people can conveniently do 
for themselves, the watching, lighting, and cleans- 
ing their streets, — the selection, in large towns, 
of their own local authorities, &c. is purposely 
left to them. This sort of power is left to them on 
two grounds : 1. That they frequently can regulate 
these affairs better than some higher authority at 



440 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

a distance ; and 2. That it is desirable to exer- 
cise them, and to give them employment, in 
public business. 

Now of all things which properly belong to the 
people of a particular locality, the care of their 
own poor is the last which ought to be taken from 
them. This is abundantly obvious, from the very 
nature of the case. The poor cannot be dealt 
with as sewers or gaols may be. Nothing requires 
more personal knowledge, sympathy, patience, or 
consideration, than the care of the indigent and 
distressed. No set of general rules can be laid 
down, which shall not inevitably be attended with 
great suffering, and great injustice. Just as rea- 
sonably might a physician hand over his whole 
list of patients, to be prescribed for on some broad, 
general principles, by a Commission sitting twelve 
miles off, as a parish expect that their poor can be 
feelingly and sympathizingly dealt with, by a 
Board of Guardians, consisting of those who are 
nine-tenths strangers, and acting under the stern 
dictation of a central power in the metropolis. 

We will describe an actual case, as far as a 
whole parish was concerned, which has fallen 
under our own observation. 

A town parish, of a reasonable size, having 
3,400 inhabitants, was the subject of the change. 
The care of the poor, as far back as the memory 



THE NEW POOR LAW. 441 

of the oldest inhabitant could carry him, had al- 
ways been considered a subject of general interest 
and concern. Each Easter, as it recurred, two 
respectable inhabitants were selected at a public 
meeting of the householders of the parish, and in- 
vested, as Overseers, with full power to raise the ne- 
cessary funds by rate, and to expend them on the 
indigent and deserving poor. These officers were 
aided by a permanent Vestry-Clerk, and by a 
" Poor-Committee " consisting of past Overseers. 
It was held to be a matter of duty and conscience 
with them, to become personally acquainted with 
the cases of those applying for aid. Usually, not 
only those residing within the parish, but those 
at a distance also, were individually visited at 
their lodgings. The number of paupers in the 
workhouse was generally between 50 and 70, 
chiefly consisting of aged women. These were 
bountifully fed, their provisions alone costing the 
parish 4s. 4d. per head, weekly. On three days in 
the week they had half a pound of cooked meat to 
each person ; on the other four, good soup, pud- 
ding and potatoes. Yet, so far from this abun- 
dance attracting paupers, it was very rarely in- 
deed that any but the really disabled or decrepid, 
could be induced to enter the workhouse. The 
shield of the parish against the impositions of the 
profligate, was always found to be, an order to go 



442 LIFE OP MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

into the House. " I will give you an order for the 
House, but no money, " was the usual reply of 
the Overseer, when he had a bad opinion of an 
applicant ; and it was almost always effectual. 

But, to the deserving, or those who wished to 
strive for a living, out-door relief was freely given. 
As much as 3s. 6d. a week was often allowed to a 
poor widow, who made out the rest of her living 
by a little washing or needle-work. In all this, 
there was no lavish or idle waste of the public 
funds. All was done on a knowledge of the par- 
ties ; from a proper feeling of their necessities ; 
and in consonance with the well-known wish of 
the inhabitants, that their poor should be kindly 
and liberally treated. 

And the poor-rate, on this liberal system, and 
with 60 or 70 in-door poor, and 200 out-door fami- 
lies requiring relief, was usually about one shil- 
ling or eighteen-peace in the pound, per annum ; 
or from five, to seven and a half per cent, on the 
actual rent of the houses. 

But soon there came a change. By a mandate 
from Somerset-House, the New Poor Law was in- 
troduced. The parishioners were generally averse 
to it, — no abuse could be pointed out to require 
such a remedy. For mere uniformity's sake, and 
because some other parishes might require such a 



THE NEW POOR LAW. 443 

specific, — the ancient parochial system was abol- 
ished, and all that the parishioners were hereafter 
to know of their own poor, was limited to a gene- 
ral idea that they had been carried off to a large 
house situate at a considerable distance, and that 
they, the inhabitants, were in future empowered to 
appoint two guardians, who would sit at a Board 
with twenty strangers, and have a slight and insig- 
nificant voice in the general management of the 
Union. 

The result has been, that the intercourse which 
formerly existed, and sympathy which naturally 
flowed forth, between rich and poor, has been 
wholly destroyed. If a man or woman is now 
in distress, he must go, — not to any neighbour, — 
but to a " relieving officer," who is a mere ma- 
chine, indurated by the mass of misery continually 
passing before him ; knowing nothing of the par- 
ties, and acting on rigid instructions, which seem 
to consider pauperism and half-starvation as things 
which ought to be indissolubly connected. Very 
soon, except under peculiar circumstances, the poor 
wretch is immured within four walls, with scarcely 
the possibility of escape, except it be to encounter 
utter starvation in the streets. In the old work- 
house he was frequently visited by various parish 
officers, who had always an open ear for his com- 
plaints. In the " Union" he is scarcely ever seen, 



444 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

—the " guardians" having no individual power ; 
and each guardian feeling that he has only a 
fractional interest in the crowds there assembled, 
among whom he can scarcely discriminate his own 
parishioners. 

With the poor widows, who cannot reconcile 
themselves to this imprisonment, the case is still 
worse. Such an one, earning a poor eighteen 
pence, two shillings, or half a crown, weekly, by 
her needle, would often receive, if her respecta- 
bility and worth was fully ascertained, 3s. or 3s. 6d. 
per week from the old " Poor Committee." Now 
she has to appear before the " Union Board," — the 
solitary guardian who happens to be present from 
her own parish " cannot hope to make her case 
an exception to the general rule," — and she is 
ordered, after wasting a whole day in waiting to 
sue for it, " a shilling a week and a loaf!" 

Many of these poor creatures have we seen, since 
the introduction of the New Poor Law into the 
district, tottering about the streets, the living- 
pictures of a slow starvation. 

" But who hath required all this? " Wherefore 
should the Legislature thus step in between the in- 
habitants of a parish and their poor, — without the 
existence of any previous complaint ; and com- 
mand that all the poor widows shall be gradually 
starved to death ; — no one person contributing to 



THE NEW POOR LAW. 445 

their support, having expressed, or felt, the least 
desire for any such diabolical economy ? 

But even this plea of economy is a false one. It 
is more than doubtful whether, in the case of well- 
governed parishes, any permanent saving, on an 
average of years, will accrue. In the case above 
described, an old workhouse was given up, at a 
great sacrifice ; a very large sum expended in enlar- 
ging another, to meet the wants of the " Union ;" 
several new salaried offices created ; and thus, after 
a slight reduction for the first year or two, a gra- 
dual rise begins, which promises to bring the an- 
nual charge quickly up to its former level. 

But even were a lasting and considerable re- 
duction to take place, again we ask, why should 
the Legislature interfere to prevent a parish from 
merely showing kindness and sympathy to its aged 
and deserving poor ? Check, if you will, any 
foolish waste of money which tends to foster pau- 
perism ; but do this by a few simple restorative 
enactments. In the main, allow the people to 
regulate these, their own affairs, by their own feel- 
ings, and attempt not to insist upon their grinding 
the faces of the poor, against their own inclination. 

These brief and cursory remarks may suffice to 
indicate the course which we would desire to see 
taken, in any further legislation on the New Poor 



446 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

Law. We would not, with many, demand the 
abolition of the Commission ; — preferring, with 
Mr. Wakley, to turn it to a good account. Let 
that Commission continue to exist, but with an 
entire change in its object and occupation. The 
member just alluded to, said, in the recent debate, 
that " he was not for the total abolition of the 
law ; for he thought that the interests of the poor 
were so vast, and that the nation generally was so 
mixed up with the question of the poor, that it was 
advisable that a court of appeal should be consti- 
tuted. To preside at this court he would have a 
man in whose judgment and humanity he could 
place implicit reliance ; he would appoint a man 
who should be designated the " the Poor Law 
Judge." He would also suggest the appointment 
of a Poor Law advocate, whose duty it should be 
to support before that tribunal the claims of the 
poor and distressed. If Her most gracious Majesty 
had her paid advocates, he did not see why the 
poor should not have theirs." 

Now to some desirable purpose of this kind, 
the existing Commission might surely be directed. 
Up to the present period the Commissioners seem 
to have mistaken their duties ; and to have thought 
that the chief end of their creation was, to reduce 
the Poor-rates, and to protect the pockets of the 
Rate-payers. But the Rate-payers of England con- 



THE NEW POOR LAW. 447 

stitute a body of abundant acuteness and abundant 
power, and they require no aid, nor any suggestion, 
from a central Board, to induce them to look after 
their own interests. The continual efforts of the 
Commissioners, to force the rate-payers, and the 
Boards of Guardians, into a lower scale of diet and 
relief for the poor than they were generally willing 
to adopt, have been rendered necessary, not by any 
blindness of the rate-payers to their own inter- 
ests; but by a natural and righteous feeling of 
their obligations to God, and to their poorer bre- 
thren. 

Let us, then, ask for a restoration of the old 
parochial system, — wherever there is a public to 
work the law. Little knots of managers, whether 
farmers or manufacturers, will always be open to 
the temptation of " jobbing;" which seems pecu- 
liarly to belong to small select committees of self- 
appointed and self-responsible functionaries. 
Such compacts ought to be broken up ; for out of 
such no good can possibly arise. But then the other 
extreme is not at all preferable. The immense 
parish, — such as Birmingham or Marylebone, in 
which the recipients of relief will often amount to 
thousands, — is an abuse at least equally deplorable. 
The rate-payers cannot, in such a district, fitly 
manage their own affairs, for they cannot meet 
without constituting a mob ; and a mob must, of 



448 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

necessity, mismanage every thing it undertakes. 
It is the old English parish, that we want, — with 
its own parson, known by, and knowing, every 
family within his bounds : — its publicly-chosen 
overseers, undertaking the care of the poor as a 
duty to God and to their neighbour : and whose 
parochial assemblies, of from fifty to an hundred 
reasonable beings, " inhabitant householders," 
knowing and respecting each other, — are too 
limited to present any field for the demagogue, 
and too extensive and open for the intrusion of 
jobbers. We want the people formed into bodies 
of this sort, wherever practicable ; — by subdivision, 
in the large towns ; by union of such as are near 
at hand, in the villages ; and being so organized, 
we want them then to be intrusted with the care 
of their own poor, and the expenditure of their 
own money. 

The principal remedies required to cure the de- 
fects of the former system, were two : 1 . A better 
organization of the people, subdividing large pa- 
rishes, and uniting small ones ; so as to provide, 
every where, really useful and reasonable bodies 
of people, into whose hands the care of the poor 
might safely have been committed ; and 2, the 
means of separation ; and of discriminating be- 
tween the idle and the industrious poor. Every 
working overseer, a dozen years back, fully felt 



THE NEW POOR LAW. 449 

the need of some new regulations of this kind. 
For the construction of such regulations ; and for 
the trial of many experiments, in the manage- 
ment of the poor, — the existence of some central 
authority was, and is, clearly desirable. 

But no reason can exist, why that central au- 
thority should possess the despotic power it now 
does,— or why it should be permitted to go on, 
making harsh and cruel laws, which the whole 
realm abhors. Obtaining, first, large and intelli- 
gent bodies of the middle classes, for the manage- 
ment of the poor, the chief authority and responsi- 
bility, in all essentials, ought to be left with these 
assemblies. No Somerset-House Commission 
should have the power, which is now possessed, 
of enacting strict and sweeping laws against all 
kind and liberal treatment. A power to improve 
or suggest improvements, in matters of detail, 
does not of necessity include a power to prohibit 
out-door relief, or the use of a tolerable diet in 
workhouses. These are matters which may and 
ought to be left to the providers of the poor-rates ; 
who, if they choose to give tea and sugar to their 
old women, and small ale to their aged men, and 
do not grudge an additional penny in their rates 
on this account, ought not to be coerced into 
harsh and cruel measures, by a foreign and un- 
interested central authority. 

2 G 



450 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

We were just closing the present chapter, when 
the newspaper of the day (Nov. 6.) happened to 
fall into our hands. On opening it, we found, 

1. A report of a public Meeting at Liverpool, 
called by a requisition subscribed by above 150 
of the principal firms in that,— the second town 
in England. All parties had concurred in this 
manifestation of disgust at the New Poor Law. 
Eighteen of the guardians of the poor for the town 
had signed this document ; and in that place, di- 
vided as it is on all other questions, perfect unan- 
imity prevailed in resolving, " That, after the expe- 
rience already gained, of the working of the New 
Poor Law, it is the decided opinion of this meet- 
ing, that the system is more cumbrous and expen- 
sive than the former parochial system ; and is not 
so efficient or satisfactory either to rich or poor : 
And that the Churchwardens and Overseers be 
instructed to apply to Parliament for a local act, 
for the future administration of the affairs of the 
poor in this parish." 

2. A report of a public meeting of the town of 
Woolwich, over which the Rector of the parish 
presided ; and at which it was resolved to apply 
to the Court of Queen's Bench to dissolve the 
Union established by the Poor Law Commission- 
ers, and to leave the people of Woolwich at liber- 
ty to manage their own poor. 



THE NEW POOR LAW. 451 

At this meeting, the Rev. Chairman stated 
that a principal motive for his interference was, a 
conviction of the hardships the poor were suffer- 
ing under the new system. He observed, that the 
poor of the parish of Woolwich, when in distress, 
were obliged to attend the board held at Green- 
wich, a distance of three miles, for relief. A jour- 
ney of three miles and a return of the same dis- 
tance, was, to the aged, the sick, and the infirm, no 
small grievance. But when arrived at Greenwich, 
the mass of applicants was so great, that many of 
the poor had to wait from two in the afternoon to 
nine o'clock at night ; and then would be told that 
the Guardians were not able to get through the 
business, and they must come again that day week ! 
Now it could not be supposed that they would 
have come that distance, and waited all those 
hours, if they had not been in real want. What, 
then, must be their sufferings before the return of 
the day of meeting ! 

Another gentleman stated, that on a very recent 
occasion, there had been three hundred and seventy 
cases for the weekly meeting of the board ; and in 
consequence, very many of the poor, after waiting 
from two in the afternoon till past ten at night, 
were told to return home, a distance of three miles, 
at nearly midnight ; without a morsel of bread, or 
a bit of firing, and without having even been heard I 

2 G 2 



452 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

Is it to be supposed that a country can possibly 
be peaceful or happy, in which this is a specimen 
of the settled administration of the laws ? 

3. A third Meeting is reported on the very same 
day, which took place at Sevenoaks in Kent, to 
enquire into gross mismanagement said to prevail 
in the management of the poor in that Union. A 
nobleman who moved the first Resolution, stated 
as facts, 1. That on the 22nd of April last, 75 boys 
were sleeping in 16 beds, and 86 girls in 19 beds. 
That on the 29th of April it was found that there 
were 42 boys with enlarged glands ; and 63 girls. 
That the children were not properly washed from 
the month of May to the month of November ; 
in consequence of which the itch generally pre- 
vailed. And that on one occasion Jive lying-in 
women were confined in two beds ; " not receiv- 
ing even the ordinary attention which the poor re- 
ceive in their own cottages." 

Such was the public testimony borne, in the 
course of a single day, to the working of the New 
Poor Law, by the three different and widely 
distant towns of Liverpool, Woolwich, and Seven- 
oaks. All agreed, with the most entire unanimity 
and earnestness, in reprobating the system, as cruel 
and oppressive to the poor, and harassing and in- 
sulting to the rate-payers. Can it be, that, in the 
face of such remonstrances as these, coming from 



THE NEW POOR LAW. 453 

all parts of the kingdom, and from men of all 
shades of political opinion, — any government 
will dream of maintaining the present Poor Law ; 
or any enactment at all resembling it ? Should 
such an insane attempt be made, it will un- 
questionably be seen, before many months elapse, 
that the same folly which has already shipwrecked 
the Whig administration, will most impartially 
ruin the prospects of their Conservative successors. 



CHAPTER XIIL 



THE CORN LAWS. 



It would do injustice to the portrait we are en- 
deavouring to sketch, were we to omit a distinct 
notice of Mr. Sadler's views on so vital a ques- 
tion as that of the Corn Laws. In his first con- 
siderable publication, his work on Ireland, — he 
very distinctly and strenuously advocated a full 
and permanent protection for British Agriculture. 
But in doing this, he preserved an entire con- 
sistency with his general line of argument ; by 
most emphatically declaring, that it was not with 
a view to the interests of the great proprietors, or 
even to those of the large agricultural occupiers, — 
that he took this view ; but mainly, and almost 
exclusively, on the ground of the importance and 
necessity of such protection, to the great body of 
the people. It is with the most explicit avowal of 



THE CORN LAWS. 455 

this kind, that he thus addresses himself to the 
consideration of the question : — 

"But this proposition of giving an efficient, not 
a nominal protection to the agriculture of Ireland, 
I am anxious to state, in limine, is not for the pur- 
pose of securing a large national rental. I shall 
not, however, concede to any modern theorist that 
this is not an essential advantage : — it has always 
been regarded as such by all our best writers, even 
when the reasons for supporting it were not a hun- 
dredth part as strong as they are at present. But it 
is not, I repeat, for the purpose of securing the pre- 
sent rental of a Duke of Devonshire, or an Earl Fitz- 
william, nor yet to serve the interests of the great 
cultivators ; — it is in behalf of an infinitely more 
numerous class, whom the arguers on this question 
generally find it convenient to lose sight of, that 
the proposition of a continued and efficient protec- 
tion of Irish agriculture is now urged. It is for the 
purpose of continuing in work the cottiers ; and of 
preserving the property of the innumerable little 
freeholders of Ireland ; who have, most of them, if 
not all, obtained and purchased their interest in 
the soil under the operation and guarantee of laws 
which determined in great measure its value ; 
laws which, however modified, have for the last 
century and a half professedly protected agricul- 
ture ; a protection which, according to Dalton, (no 



456 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

mean authority), is even part of " the common law/' 
To abrogate these, then, or render them inefficient, 
would be to commit as direct a robbery upon such 
proprietors, as though the legislature were to con- 
fiscate their possessions, and deliver them over at 
once to universal idleness and starvation." 

" But in proceeding to consider this part of 
the subject, it is evident that the interests of the 
cultivators of Ireland cannot be discussed apart 
from those of Britain ; nor shall I attempt to do 
so. They are, as to this question, completely 
identified ; and it would be no consolation to the 
Irish labourer thrown out of employ, to learn that 
the English one was likewise starving ; nor any 
compensation to the little Irish freeholder to know 
that the same act which had ruined him, had 
likewise destroyed the property of the same class 
throughout the empire. For that such must be the 
case, at least to a very great extent, and in no long 
time, is demonstrably plain. The cool proposition 
of Ricardo, and others of his school, that the 
poorer lands of the country should go out of culti- 
vation, involves, however worded, loss of employ- 
ment and destruction of property to multitudes. 
Such lands confessedly require the most labour ; 
they are the possessions of the smallest proprietors ; 
and are, generally speaking, as inferior in quality 
as they are limited in extent, compared with the 



THE CORN LAWS. 457 

rich abbey-lands and ancient inclosures of the 
great land-owners. The proposition, then, is one 
of direct plunder, as it regards tens of thousands 
of the peasantry of Ireland, and of the yeomanry 
of England ; whose lands must be abandoned, and 
their labour at the same time be rendered equally 
valueless, altering at the same time all the relative 
values of the country — in order that the stock-job- 
ber's pound-note may pass for thirty shillings ! " # 

He adds, too, this distinct disclaimer of all per- 
sonal interest in the continuance of protection. 

" One circumstance may render the succeeding 
defence of British agriculture a matter of some curi- 
osity ; it is urged by one totally unconnected with 
that interest, and who can say with Cecil — " I 
do not dwell in the country ; nor am I acquainted 
with the plough ; but I think that whosoever doth 
not maintain the plough, destroys the kingdom. , ' 

He proceeds, 

"The experiment of allowing foreign growers 
to glut our markets, to the extinction of many of 
the home ones, has been anciently tried : at first, 
indeed, it beat down the prices to almost nothing, 
but afterwards invariably heightened them, and 
sometimes into actual (not theoretical) famine. 
But to look to more modern times : In Queen 

* Ireland, its Evils, #c. p. 320 — 322. 



458 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

Elizabeth's days, Lord Bacon informs us, that " it 
drained much coin of the kingdom, to furnish us 
with corn from foreign parts ; " and yet what did 
this importation do for the country ? Its ultimate 
effect was, by thus discouraging and putting down 
the home grower, to raise the price of grain so 
much, that the latter part of her reign was almost 
a continued dearth. That great man's advice on 
the occasion was thus expressed: " I may truly 
say to the English, Go to the pismire, thou slug- 
gard." In the succeeding reign, notwithstanding 
there was still not nearly half, if much more than a 
third, of the present population, this system con- 
tinued, to the great hindrance of internal indus- 
try, and the consequent damage of the public in- 
terest. There was still a selfish faction that ar- 
gued, as at present, in favour of turning the 
country into a sheep-walk ; asserting, as now, that 
England could not sustain its people with bread ; 
or, rather, that it was more profitable to be sup- 
plied by others ; and, in spite of such men as More 
and Bacon and Raleigh, they prevailed. From 
the former of these I have already quoted at large ; 
the last, memorializing King James, states, that 
"corn had in some years cost England two mil- 
lions sterling ; " and, speaking of such ruinous im- 
portations from foreigners, he says, " It is to the 
dishonour of the land that they should serve this 



THE CORN LAWS. 459 

famous kingdom, which God has so enabled 
within itself." He says, elsewhere, and how 
truly, succeeding times have shown, that" all na- 
tions abound with corn ; " hence the interest and 
duty of each is manifest, to increase the products 
of the earth as they become necessary, and that 
by encouraging internal industry instead of super- 
seding it. As to the desideratum of our modern 
school, he thus expresses himself: "If corn is 
too cheap, the husbandman is undone, whom we 
must provide for, for he is the staple man of 
the kingdom ? " — an opinion which we have been 
attempting to prove as true at the present mo- 
ment, as it was wiien he uttered it." * 

To repeat, however, Mr. Sadler's main argu- 
ments, in the terms in which they are given, would 
be fatiguing to the reader, inasmuch as they have 
since been adopted by fifty other writers, and pre- 
sented in as many different forms. It will be pre- 
ferable, on every account, to endeavour to condense 
his view's, as developed both in his printed works, 
and in the course of many conversations, in a 
brief but connected view of the whole controversy. 
What, then, is the question which at present 
divides the whole British community ? 

On the one side we see the Agricultural interest, 
— landed proprietors, farmers, and all connected 

* Ireland, its Evils, $c. p. 346, 347. 



460 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

with them, — earnestly intreating the continuance of 
the existing system, which provides, that until 
the rise of price denotes a short supply at home, 
no foreign-grown corn shall come into England. 

On the other, the greater part of the manufac- 
turers, with many of the mercantile and trading 
classes, treat the sustaining operation of this rule, 
keeping the price of corn generally from 25 to 40 
per cent above the continental average, — as a 
positive grievance. They claim it as an in- 
nate right, to be permitted to buy the necessaries 
of life at the cheapest market. They also assert, 
that our exclusion of foreign corn leads foreigners 
to exclude our manufactures : and that thus they 
are deprived of various and extensive markets. 

Now, how is this controversy to be satisfactorily 
determined ? 

Obviously, there is no great difficulty in re- 
pelling most of the assumptions of the complaining 
party. It is difficult to conceive of a case resting 
on data more uncertain or unsound. Every one 
of the facts on which it relies, may be safely and 
resolutely questioned. 

That corn is cheaper in Poland than in England, 
is true of the present moment. But of course 
every one must reckon on an immediate equaliza- 
tion, as the natural result of the opening the Eng- 
lish market to the foreign corn-grower. The 



THE CORN LAWS. 461 

price of Polish or Prussian corn would rise to 
the level of the English market, minus the cost of 
conveyance : the price of British corn would fall 
to the level of Hamburgh, plus the charges for 
freight, &c. * 

The competition, then, would necessarily render 
it unprofitable to grow corn in England, except 
on lands naturally productive and adjacent to a 
good market. All moderate men, on whatever 
side, agree, that the tendency of the change must 
be, to throw much land in these islands out of 
cultivation ; or at least to reduce it to pasture, 
which employs a far smaller amount of labour. 
The result then, is, that because the Polish 
land-owner, tilling his land by serfs, can send 
corn to market at a lower rate than the British 
farmer, who pays rent, and high rates and taxes, 
and from 9s. to 14s. a week to his labourers, — we 
are to " buy where we can buy cheapest," and 
let our land go out of cultivation, and our labourers 
flock into the workhouse, or beg on the highway. 

But here comes in the rejoinder of the free 
traders. " Only give us liberty to buy corn from 
other nations, and those nations will buy our 
manufactures from us, and thus a new source of 

* It is needless to embarrass the question by introducing the 
medium plan of a fixed duty ; inasmuch as that plan is now repu- 
diated by both the two great contending parties. 



462 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

employment will spring up, which will absorb 
and set to work, all the agricultural labourers 
whom you expect to cast loose." 

When, however, we call for evidence in support 
of this assumption, nothing of the least validity is 
forthcoming. We see foreign nations earnestly 
giving protection to their own manufactures ; and 
constantly exhibiting their anxiety to foster every 
branch of native industry ; and we ask, on what 
ground the expectation rests, that they will aban- 
don this their favourite system, merely because 
England consents to admit their corn ? Often has 
this enquiry been made ; but never has it been 
satisfactorily answered. We conclude, therefore, 
that it is the dictate of the merest common sense 
to stop short at this point ; and to say, ' Before 
we can even think of sacrificing one branch of 
British industry to promote another, you must 
shew us, clearly and satisfactorily, that that 
other branch will be benefitted ; and that there 
is some disposition, at least, to reciprocate con- 
cessions of this kind, among foreign powers.' 

This may be called the present state of the 
question. There is, however, a higher and more 
permanent view, which the statesman ought fixed- 
ly to adopt ; and by which, as by a first principle, 
all his reasonings and movements on this great 
question, ought to be regulated. 



THE CORN LAWS. 463 

" The greatest happiness of the greatest num- 
ber," we have already stated to have been the ob- 
ject of Mr. Sadler's settled aim ; and the very 
phrase itself to have been adopted by him, long 
before he had been made aware of its use in other 
quarters. Following this principle to its results, 
we would endeavour to imagine a statesman, for- 
getting the rich and wealthy individuals, whether 
land-owners or manufacturers, who may be enabled 
by their position to address their arguments to his 
own personal ear ; and thinking almost solely of the 
multitude ; — of the myriads whose very existence 
may depend on the course of policy he adopts. 

The permanent principles on which alone a 
state can satisfactorily proceed, must be identical 
with those on which it ought to be originally based. 
Let us set aside, then, for a moment, all the tem- 
porary circumstances which now distract the view, 
and let us contemplate the foundation of a new 
state, on territories so advantageously circum- 
stanced as to enable a free choice to be made. 

Let us imagine a formerly populous, but now de- 
serted province, on the shores of the Mediterranean, 
as chosen to be the birthplace of such new common- 
wealth. Give scope and room enough for the exper- 
iment ; land of an average quality ; sea-coast and 
ports to a convenient extent ; and people ready to 
congregate from other parts of Europe to occupy it. 



464 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

And what would be the first object (economi- 
cally speaking,) of a really wise contriver of the 
whole design ? Can there be a doubt that the 
leading aim of a really prudent man would be, to 
get the whole territory under cultivation as fast as 
possible ; and especially to promote the growth of 
corn, so as to render the staff of life naturally, 
and not artificially, abundant among the people ? 

Every possible consideration, possessing the 
least weight, would lead him to this conclusion. 
The obvious insecurity of the state, while de- 
pending for its very food upon foreign supplies, 
would naturally press upon his mind. The 
healthy character of agricultural occupation, both 
for mind and body; and its safety, as insuring an 
unfailing return to those who devote themselves 
to it, would all tend to the same conclusion. 

Imagine, then, an advocate of the manufac- 
turing interest, rising in council to oppose these 
views. ' You are wrong/ he would argue, c to de- 
vote so much attention to the mere culture of the 
soil. Nothing is more common, nothing more 
universal, than the growth of food. You may have 
supplies from every part of the world whenever 
you need them. Agriculture neither offers scope 
for ingenuity or enterprise ; nor will it give em- 
ployment to the myriads who will flock to your 
new settlement. Leave, then ? these matters to shift 



THE CORN LAWS. 465 

for themselves, and turn your attention to the 
founding a great manufacturing and commercial 
emporium/ 

e I dare not/ would be the reply of a prudent le- 
gislator, — 'I dare not venture on so hazardous an 
experiment. Let me but plant the people, village 
by village, and farm by farm, over the whole face of 
the country ; so that every man may raise his own 
subsistence and something more; and general plen- 
ty and social prosperity must be the result. Then 
will manufactures spring up, as comfort grows and 
increases, and luxury begins to find an entrance : 
but let the factory only rear itself when a suf- 
ficiency of food has already been provided for the 
subsistence of those who labour therein. A course 
like this is encompassed by no hazards ; every- 
thing naturally follows in its order, and no open- 
ing is left for any violent dislocation of the social 
system. But would this be the case on the 
opposite plan ? Were we to raise factories and 
mills, and fill them with our people, leaving the 
land untilled, and relying on supplies from other 
countries, how obvious would be the risk of 
frequent calamity and convulsion ! Two concerns 
of vital moment would be left open to frequent 
disappointment: — 1. Our produce would chiefly 
consist of manufactured goods, which must be sold 
to buy food, or the work-people would starve. 2, 

2 H 



466 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER, 

Sufficient supplies of corn must always be at- 
tainable, or a famine might ensue. Thus, either 
by a glut of goods in the market, or by a pre- 
ference given by foreigners to the products of some 
other country, the whole reliance of the people 
for subsistence might suddenly fail. Or, in the 
second case, a shortness of the harvests throughout 
Europe might induce a closing of the ports by seve- 
ral or by all the sovereigns ; and thus a positive 
impossibility of procuring food, might for a season 
take place. Hence nothing can be more clear, 
than that any ruler who desires to banish anxiety of 
mind, must adopt the obvious course, of leading 
the people to supply themselves, first, with the 
necessaries of life, and then, and only then, to 
complete their system by the addition of manufac- 
tures.' 

We doubt whether any, even the most ardent ad- 
vocate of the commercial interests, will deny this 
proposition ; but we can easily imagine that some 
might be inclined to limit it to the case of a new 
state. Such an one would reply, that in a coun- 
try like our own, already fully cultivated, and in 
many parts over-peopled, a totally different policy 
ought to be adopted. Admitting, he would say, 
that in the first instance the people ought to be 
spread over the country, and the cultivation of the 
land encouraged ; still, a time must be expected 



THE CORN LAWS. 467 

to arrive, when all the really fertile land would 
be occupied ; when the people would continue to 
increase ; and when it would plainly become an 
imperative duty, to seek for new means of employ- 
ing and sustaining them. 

We are prepared to withstand this argument 
without any reserve, and to deny it the least vali- 
dity. We contend, that the governing principle of a 
statesman can no more change, in this matter, than 
it can become either right, or wise, in a private 
individual, to modify his adherence to truth, or 
justice, or humanity. The course of policy we 
are advocating is not one belonging only to a cer- 
tain arrangement of circumstances ; or which can 
become less wise or necessary by the lapse of time 
or the increase of population. Its truth is as ob- 
vious, and as indisputable, when there are five 
hundred people on every square mile, as when 
there are only^ye. 

Many persons, it is true, are perpetually seen 
snatching up the bare fact, that " population has 
increased/' and rushing at once to the conclusion, 
that we must now mainly rely upon manufactures ; 
for that the people have become too numerous to 
be supported out of the land. This is only one 
among many instances in politics, in which a 
something is put forward in lieu of an argument, 
and eagerly adopted by the unthinking, without at 

2 h 2 



468 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

all stopping to enquire whether the new allegation 
is of the least use in proving that which it is sup- 
posed to establish. 

In what way is it, that the increase of popula- 
tion is supposed to make it manifest, that we must 
leave off thinking so much of agriculture, and 
place all our reliance on manufactures ? To our 
view, the necessity would appear to lay in a to- 
tally opposite direction. 

Does the increased amount of our population, 
and the consequent difficulty of providing suffici- 
ent food, render it more prudent than before to 
neglect our native supply of provisions ; which, to 
whatever extent it may reach, must always be in 
our own power ; — and to lean in an increased 
degree upon the casual and uncertain supplies we 
may get from abroad ; which supplies may, at 
any moment, be suddenly diminished, or wholly 
withheld, by the edict of an absolute monarch, or 
a warlike freak of our transatlantic rivals ? 

Or does the growing density of the masses al- 
ready congregated in our large towns, and which 
fill every thoughtful mind with anxiety, lead us to 
desire to drive thousands and tens of thousands of 
our present agriculturists into those dangerous 
hives; to lower wages, to increase the bitterness of 
the existing distress, and to render it still more 
doubtful whether such masses can much longer be 
kept in any state of subordination ? 



THE CORN LAWS. 469 

Or do the obvious dangers, already existing, of 
utter starvation to myriads, — either from sudden 
panics, improvements in machinery, or other causes; 
which, at a stroke, reduce multitudes to hopeless 
misery, and bring the state into urgent difficulty, 
— do these appalling perils offer much induce- 
ment to us to increase the numbers of those who 
are thus hazardously circumstanced ? On the con- 
trary, do not all these circumstances throw their 
weight into the opposite scale, and warrant us in 
considering the growth of population as an argu- 
ment for, and not against, an increased and more 
sedulous protection to agriculture ? 

For our part, when we hear, as we are now 
perpetually doing, — of new automaton-machinery, 
which promises in a few months to throw out of 
employment all the cotton-spinners in Lancashire ; 
— of discoveries in metal-working, which must 
quickly supersede manual labour in great branch- 
es of that class of manufactures ; and of applica- 
tions of galvanism to engraving and its kindred 
arts, which must dismiss other thousands, — we 
exclaim, as such tidings flow in, each, like Job's 
messengers, more fearful than the last, — " Well, 
the comfort is, that the spade still remains ! That, 
at least, is a resource which will never fail us ; 
and which is equal to every emergency." 

Who can traverse this beautiful island, and see 



470 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

millions after millions of available acres laying 
wholly idle ; # while on that which is said to be 
cultivated, you may frequently pass over mites 
without coming to a single cottage ; — and remem- 
ber that nearly every plot of five acres is equal 
to the maintenance of a peasant, with his wife and 
children ; — without feeling his wrath burn with- 
in him at the profane and wicked usurpation of 
the men, who, while they themselves wallow in 
luxury, talk to us of " the evil of a surplus po- 
pulation ! " There would be little difficulty in point- 
ing out mill-owners, the very names of whose 
grandfathers are unknown, (if, indeed, they ever 
had any) and who have amassed by the agonies 
and early deaths of myriads of little children, 
wealth enough to purchase an earl's domains ; and 
who now cry out, " It is idle to think that agricul- 
ture can employ this immense population ! " — 
whereas, they might, if they pleased, settle hap- 
pily and in comfort, on one of their estates, the 

* Mr. Porter, in his Progress of the Nation, v. 1. p. 177, — cal- 
culates these to be as follows ; — 

" Wastes capable of improvement." 
England - - - 3,454,000 acres 
Wales - - - 530,000 

Scotland - - - 5,950,000 
Ireland - - - 4,900,000 

Brit. Islands - - 166,000 



15,000,000 



THE CORN LAWS. 471 

whole unemployed population of Bolton or Stock- 
port ! But no, — such a thought never enters 
their minds ! 

But we must return to the argument. We 
assert, then, that the man who, in settling a new 
colony, or organizing a new state, did not direct 
his main efforts to bring the land into cultivation, 
— did not strive to the utmost to promote the 
growth of sufficient food for the people, — would 
be regarded by all rational men, as blind to his 
foremost and most urgent duty. We cannot 
doubt that the theorist, who, in such a position, 
contrived the employment of the population in 
factories ; leaving their very existence dependent 
on their being able, first, to sell their goods, and 
secondly, to buy food, instead of raising it for 
themselves, around their dwellings, — we cannot 
doubt, we say, that such a speculator would be 
universally contemned, as incurring great and 
needless perils. 

But that it is safer to venture on such an exper- 
iment with five-and-twenty millions of people, 
than it would be with five-and-twenty thousand ; 
is a supposition about as rational as it would be, 
to deprecate trifling with squibs, but to be utterly 
heedless over a barrel of gunpowder. A mistake 
in Canada or New Zealand may be retrievable ; 
but what would the man deserve who could in- 



472 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

cautiously experimentalize on the supply of food 
for the whole population of Great Britain ? 

These speculators are very ready to assert, that 
England cannot grow her own food. That this 
is utterly untrue, in years of average fruitfulness, 
is sufficiently proved by the fact, that in the 
course of three years, 1833, 1834, and 1835, only 
175,480 quarters of foreign wheat found a market 
among us. The failure or partial failure of an harvest 
naturally produces a need for a foreign supply ; and 
this supply we have hitherto found attainable at a 
moderate advance of price. Still, a bad harvest, 
and consequent rise of price, always have been, and 
always must be, calamitous to the extent to which 
they reach. But what shall we say to the men, 
who, on the fact that in bad years our home sup- 
ply is insufficient, would found a proposition which 
must give us a short supply every year, and make 
the calamitous necessity of importation a thing of 
constant occurrence ! 

Yet such must be the result of what is called a 
" free trade in corn." The opening of the ports, at 
all times, to Polish corn, must, it is universally ad- 
mitted, discourage the British farmer, and throw 
much corn-land out of cultivation. The home 
supply would thus be continually and permanently 
lessened ; and our supply of food, and the price 
of that supply, would grow, year by year, more 



THE CORN LAWS. 473 

contingent on the pleasure and convenience of 
foreign powers. That America can send us any 
considerable quantity, at a low price, is clearly 
out of the question. Hence, when once we came 
to depend upon a Polish or Prussian supply, as a 
necessary feature in our system, it must be obvious 
that a war with Russia or with France would in- 
evitably double the price of bread in England, and 
plunge our working population into the deepest 
suffering. 

This, however, is but one branch of the subject ; 
and not the most important branch. The grand 
and governing fact of the whole question is, that 
the main destiny and settled employment of man 
was fixed, nearly six thousand years since, by an 
All-wise and All-beneficent hand. " The Lord 
" God sent him forth, to till the ground from whence 
"he was taken." 

There is nothing trifling or unmeaning in the 
words of Scripture. We do not strain this passage 
beyond its legitimate intent, when we maintain, 
that we here find described, that employment and 
aim, which Wisdom itself has marked out for the 
great bulk of the human race, as the fittest, hap- 
piest, and best. 

Obviously, an expression like this is not to be 
carried to an absurd length, or strained into a 
positive enactment. No rational man would 



474 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

argue from it that artificers are rebels against 
the Divine design ; but without thus exaggerating 
the intent of the passage, we may reasonably 
draw from it the fair and moderate conclusion ; 
that the business and occupation thus assigned to 
the first human family, must be, and ought to be, 
the foremost and most indispensable in all those 
gathered and congregated families now called na- 
tions. In every such society the first economical 
object ought to be, the tilling of the ground. In 
that occupation there will ever be found, both full 
employment for all the people ; and abundant pro- 
vision for all their wants. It is at once the most 
necessary, the most salutary, and the most peace- 
ful. The best proof of this is found in the fact, that 
the more this branch of industry is promoted, the 
more will the earth be brought into resemblance 
to that Paradise which commenced the world's 
history ; and to that " holy city " which will close 
it. In the most thickly-peopled spots on our 
globe, such as Lucca, Belgium, and some parts of 
Switzerland, the common description of the 
country is, that " it resembles a garden." If we 
could scatter our own five-and-twenty millions 
over the land of these three kingdoms, so that each 
family should have its five or ten acres, the result 
would be, an orderly and happy population, and 
the land " resembling a garden." 



THE CORN LAWS. 475 

And such a state would approach the nearest to 
the Paradisaical bliss. Before sin or sorrow en- 
tered the world, " the Lord God planted a garden 
eastward in Eden, and there he put the man whom 
he had formed." This was man's original state of 
happiness. It will never return until we again be- 
hold " the Paradise of God. 55 (Rev.ii. 7.) Mean- 
time, while we readily admit, that mere external 
circumstances or occupations cannot remove or 
remedy the great Upas-tree of human life, innate 
corruption ; — still it can neither be unreasonable 
nor harmful to keep these things in mind ; and to 
remember, that God's intent was, that man should 
" till the ground ; " and that the more thoroughly 
and carefully this is done, the nearer do we ap- 
proach, in that one 'particular, the original Para- 
dise, in which man was both innocent and happy. 

Our conclusions, then, from the whole investi- 
gation, are to the following effect : — 

That merely to remove our custom from the 
English corn-grower to the Polish one, — thereby 
throwing labourers out of employment at home, 
and giving their wages to foreigners, — would be 
doing nothing else than evil : — 

That the supposition, that, in return, the Rus- 
sians and Germans would leave off protecting or 
preferring their own manufactures,— and would 



476 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

open their markets to our goods, — is, at present, 
altogether destitute of proof ; and, in itself, very- 
improbable : — - 

That legislation based on such a mere assump- 
tion, would be a near approach to lunacy : — 

That in all countries, the first and indispensable 
object, in economy, with the statesman, should be, 
the inducing a home cultivation of a sufficient 
amount of food : — 

That, remembering the absence of importation 
into England in years of average fruitfulness, and 
looking at. the 15,000,000 of acres still uncultivated, 
the possibility of an abundant home-supply for a 
far larger population than England at present 
possesses, is evident and indisputable : — and 

That a preference for agricultural pursuits is 
inculcated, alike by the lessons of experience, and 
by the recorded intentions of Him who formed 
man, and who " knew what was in man." 

Finally, to repeat the wise adage already quoted, 
let us support the plough, for " he who does not 
maintain the Plough, destroys the kingdom." 



CHAPTER XIV. 



THE CURRENCY. 



We pursue our task, of giving an outline, however 
rapid and imperfect, of Mr. Sadler's views on all the 
great questions of the day ; because we feel that a 
wrong would be done to his memory, were he regard- 
ed as a ei man of one idea," or as if absorbed by 
his researches into the Law of Human Increase. 
Those who enjoyed the happiness of his acquain- 
tance, were constantly surprised and delighted by 
the richness and variety of his mental stores ; and 
by the evidence he was constantly giving, in the 
passing conversations of the day, of his intimate 
acquaintance with the true bearings of almost 
every question which could come under a states- 
man's consideration. 

One of the foremost and most important of these 
topics, was that of the Currency. And it was 



478 LIFE OP MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

assuredly one mark of the sagacity of Mr. Sadler's 
mind ; that he constantly assigned to this ques- 
tion the very first rank in the scale of state-neces- 
sities. It is this circumstance which has mainly 
influenced us in especially alluding to this topic. 
Sufficient is it, alone, to establish one claim on 
behalf of Mr. Sadler, to the rank of a statesman, 
to observe, that while many men of talent and cele- 
brity (such as Mr. Canning and Lord Liverpool,) 
were content to leave the monetary system in all 
its mingled follies and absurdities ; merely patch- 
ing up the shapeless and crazy machine, as sheer 
necessity might compel ; — he ever regarded it with 
a wiser and more reasonable appreciation ; and 
held the subject to be one on which no govern- 
ment had ever yet either fully understood, or 
adequately discharged, its true and weighty 
responsibilities. 

In truth, the history of the monetary system of 
England, if carefully and graphically sketched, 
would present a picture which must recal to 
every reader's mind the exclamation, " See with 
how little wisdom the world is governed!" 
Throughout the whole narrative, it would constant- 
ly be observed, that the prevalent feeling with 
actual legislators and supposed statesmen had ever 
been, that the governance and regulation of the 
money of the country, was a matter concerning 



CURRENCY. 479 

which they either could not, or need not, give 
themselves any concern ! 

Confining our attention mainly to our own times, 
— to the last twenty or thirty years, — this has been 
most clearly and manifestly the case. Through- 
out the various discussions of 1819, 1823, 1826, 
and the allusions to the question which have since 
occurred, we may search in vain for any just or 
accurate appreciation of the real magnitude of the 
subject. Scarcely ever does it seem to have entered 
into any of the debaters' heads, — that in calmly 
enacting, for instance, a reduction of the currency, 
according to some fancy of the bullion-philoso- 
phers, — they were, in practical effect, resolving, 
that so many thousands of merchants, traders, and 
manufacturers should be ruined ; so many hun- 
dreds die of broken hearts ; and so many tens of 
thousands of the labourers, of slow starvation and 
lingering disease. Such is the state of things at 
the instant at which these lines are written; and 
the cause of all this ruin and misery is as palpa- 
ble and unquestionable as the existence of day- 
light ; in the plain fact, that the country is now 
suffering the wretchedness of a more contracted 
currency than it has known for probably fifty years. 
And the most extraordinary feature in the whole 
business is, that while our legislators seem to feel 
it incumbent upon them to regulate by statute 



480 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

almost every other circumstance affecting the 
being or well-being of the people ; this, the chief 
and governing point of all, is constantly left, by 
consent of all parties, to hap-hazard ! 

As an illustration, it is strictly true to assert, 
that just as the rise of the thermometer denotes 
the spread of a genial warmth over nature, causing 
fruitfulness in all places within its influence; 
while the fall of the mercury shews the approach 
of chilling frost, binding up all nature in icy 
chains ; — so does a rise of the currency con- 
stantly betoken activity and prosperity ; and a 
diminution, stagnation and distress. The practi- 
cal view, however, is generally the best. As a 
plain matter of fact, then, but one which is con- 
stantly forgotten or overlooked, — let it be observed, 
that every increase of the quantity of money 
afloat immediately produces a rise in the value 
and price of all commodities. This rise offers to 
all traders a new profit. It thus instantly tempts 
to speculation ; and leads to hope and to confi- 
dence. Orders are freely given for all goods 
which shew a tendency to rise in value. Trade 
forthwith becomes brisk ; and a career of what is 
called " prosperity," is immediately commenced. 
Just as certain, as general, and as immediate, is 
the effect of a diminution of the currency. A 
fall in the value of goods is the instant and inevit- 



THE CURRENCY. 481 

able result. Losses are thus inflicted on all who 
hold goods ; or who are in the act of importing or 
receiving commodities. Alarm is excited : no one 
knows how far the decline may go. Trade is in- 
stantly paralyzed, for no one will buy more than a 
few weeks' or days' consumption. Workshops 
stand still ; the masters are perplexed to meet 
their engagements ; the men are discharged ; and 
pauperism and misery increase on every side. 

If we could properly understand and appreciate 
the extent and power of the operation of the Cur- 
rency on all the affairs of life, we should feel the 
vast importance of making two points quite secure ; 
— 1. the sufficiency of the circulating medium ; 
and, 2, the steadiness of its supply. 

The misery caused by a deficient quantity may 
perhaps be in some measure understood, by merely 
watching the various sufferings of a dozen traders, 
all cramped by shortness of capital. The wretched- 
ness of their state is sure to destroy the health, if 
not the reason, of some of them. Now, to a certain 
extent, this sort of misery is inflicted on the whole 
trading portion of the community, and on all con- 
nected with them, whenever the Currency is re- 
duced and kept below its proper level. Not the 
insolvent only, or the heedless, are the sufferers ; 
but the difficulty of obtaining payments which are 
fully due, and the still greater difficulty in mak- 

2 i 



482 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

ing sales with safety, inflict both loss and anxiety 
upon the most solid and prudent. 

Still greater, however, is the injury inflicted, and 
the ruin inevitably caused, by rapid enlargements 
and sudden contractions of the Currency. These 
often bring absolute ruin on the most innocent, and 
the most free from speculative excesses. Take are- 
cent and a well-known instance. A merchant 
succeeds his father in business, and in a solid capi- 
tal of £100,000. When he comes into the possession 
and management of both, he finds the cotton- 
market, in which his business chiefly lies, in an 
apparently healthy and buoyant state. Who is to 
warn this young man, that much of this apparently 
fair appearance, is owing to the operations of the 
Lancashire Joint-Stock-Banks? He cannot calcu- 
late their effect ; nor tell how soon they may find 
it necessary to change their course. He imports, as 
his father had done, large quantities of cotton. The 
Banks begin to be perplexed ; and to withdraw 
their advances. Cotton immediately falls in price. 
He does not like to sell at a loss of 10s. per bag. 
He therefore holds on. Meantime fresh consign- 
ments come ; and, hoping for better times, he 
accepts for the amount of their invoices. His 
stock increases ; but now the price is still lower ; 
and he cannot bear to lose 20s. per bag on 15,000 
bags. Still, therefore, he maintains his ground, 



THE CURRENCY. 483 

more reluctant to sell, as, week by week, the 
price gives way. At last, he is brought to a stand- 
still; and finds, on winding up his affairs, that 
he has more than 30,000 bags of cotton, on each 
of which he is a loser of £3, — and, finally, that he 
is a beggar ! The plain and indisputable cause of 
the whole, being, that certain makers of paper- 
money had raised the price of cotton, in 1837 and 
1838, by their large and free issues; and that 
when they were compelled to withdraw those 
issues, cotton necessarily fell ; and thus his whole 
fortune, like the fortunes of scores and hundreds of 
others, has been sacrificed by these juggles of 
the paper-money dealers ; the legislature standing 
by, all the while, and seeing the people thus prac- 
tised upon ! 

Bearing these things in mind, then, and ob- 
serving, from thence, how vastly important it 
must be, to keep the Currency as far as possible 
in a fixed and tranquil state ; neither encourag- 
ing rash speculations by large and sudden aug- 
mentations of the circulating medium ; nor plung- 
ing the country into wretchedness, by rapid and 
painful contractions ; — observing, we say, these 
things, let us take a glance at what has been the 
actual state of our circulating medium, in this 
country, during the last five and twenty years. 

First, let us set down the Paper Currency of 

2 12 



484 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

England and Wales, yearly, from 1814 to 1841 



Year 


Bank of England 


Country Banks 


Total 


1814 


26,901,000 


22,709,000 


49,610,000 


1815 


26,886,000 


19,011,000 


45,897,000 


1816 


26,574,000 


15,096,000 


41,670,000 


1817 


28,274,000 


15,894,000 


44,168,000 


1818 


27,220,000 


20,507,000 


47,727,000 


1819 


25,657,600 


15,701,338 


41,358,948 


1820 


24,553,160 


10,576,245 


35,129,405 


1821 


20,443,320 


8,256,180 


28,699,500 


1822 


18,326,430 


8,416,830 


26,743,260 


1823 


19,582,348 


9,920,074 


29,502,422 


1824 


20,293,326 


12,831,332 


33,124,658 


1825 


19,290,570 


14,930,168 


34,220,738 


1826 


22,255,222 


8,656,101 


30,911,323 


1827 


21,512,491 


9,985,300 


31,497,791 


1828 


21,078,327 


10,121,476 


31,199,803 


1829 


19,640,000 


8,130,327 


27,770,327 


1830 


20,494,850 


7,600,000* 


28,094,850 


1831 


19,070,824 


7,300,000 * 


26,370,824 


1832 f 


17,605,720 






1833 


18,829,750 


10,152,104 


28,981,854 


1834 % 


19,126,000 


10,154,112 


29,280,112 


1835 


18,240,000 


10,420,623 


28,660,623 


1836 


18,147,000 


11,733,945 


29,880,945 


1837 


18,716,000 


10,142,049 


28,858,049 


1838 


19,359,000 


11,364,962 


30,723,962 


1839 


17,612,000 


11,084,970 


28,696,970 


1840 


17,231,000 


9,981,286 


27,212,286 


1841 


17,481,000 


9,080,077 


26,561,377 


,, Dec 


. 16,292,000 


8,936,023 


25,223,023 



* Marshall's Tables, p. 63. 
f We find no returns of the Country-Bank issues of this year. 
% The returns from 1834 to 1841 are all of the October quarter. 



THE CURRENCY. 485 

We find then, between the years 1840 and 1841, 
the enormous reduction of twenty -three millions of 
paper-currency. The main fact to counterbalance 
this, is, the extensive coinage and issues of gold 
which have taken place in the intervening years. 
These have been as follows ; — 



1817 


£4,275,337 


1818 


2,862,337 


1819 


3,574 



£7,141,284 



We draw a line here, because it is matter of 
record that in the latter year, 1819, the value of the 
sovereign was admitted in acts of parliament to be 
above 20s. Of course in such a state of things, 
this gold currency could not remain afloat ; and it 
is quite certain that the bulk of it was either clan- 
destinely exported, or melted down by jewellers 
and other artists at home. But a very small 
portion of this, then, ought to come into our pre- 
sent calculation. We proceed, — 

£ 

1820 949,516 

1821 9,520,728 

1822 5,356,787 

1823 759,748 

1824 4,065,075 

1825 4,580,919 

1826 5,896,461 

1827 2,512,636 



486 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 



1828 


1,008,559 


1829 


2,446,754 


1830 


2,387.881 


1831 


587,949 


1832 


3,730,757 


1833 


1,225,269 


1834 


66,949 


1835 


1,109,718 


1836 


1,787,782 


1837 


1,253,088 


1838^ 




1839 V 


3,376,569 


1840 J 






£52,623,175 



Now if we could suppose for a moment that 
this large sum, or even the half, or the third part 
of it, were afloat, the argument would be at an end. 
A certain amount of paper-money would have 
been called in, and a like value in gold substituted 
for it, and that would be all. But it is perfectly 
certain that this is very far indeed from being the 
case. During the last twenty years, it has hap- 
pened at least four or five times, that the market 
price of gold became so high, that the value of the 
sovereign, at Paris and Hamburgh, was more than 
20s ; and continued so for a considerable period. 
Whenever this occurred, nothing could possibly 
prevent a flow of gold from England to those places 
where the sovereign thus bore a premium. In 



THE CURRENCY. 487 

the last two years this has been especially the 
case, from a failure of the harvests. No one 
doubts that several millions of gold have been 
transmitted in payment for corn. Besides all this, 
there is the constant drain of the currency, by the 
melting-down which takes place at home ; for, very 
frequently, the sovereign is, to the working gold- 
smith, the best material he can throw into the 
melting-pot. A further abstraction takes place, 
in the little bags of coin which are continually 
passing out of England; both to the continent, 
by travellers ; and to our immense colonial pos- 
sessions, by the swarms of emigrants which 
weekly leave our shores. In these various me- 
thods, no one can hesitate to admit the probability, 
that, in these twenty years, at least two-thirds of 
the whole amount coined must have been abstrac- 
ted. This would leave about seventeen millions 
as a real addition to the circulating medium. 

But there is another large deduction. In the 
days when bank-notes were a legal tender, no one, 
whether banker or trader, had the least necessity 
to retain by him any quantity of gold. Now, how- 
ever, the case is quite altered. The Bank of Eng- 
land strives to keep eight or ten millions of gold 
shut up in its coffers ; at the present moment it 
has nearly six millions. Every private or joint- 
stock bank in the three kingdoms must also keep 



488 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

its own stock of gold. Add to these amounts, the 
hoards of individual misers ; and the stocks of the 
bullion-merchants ; and it becomes clear that an 
estimate of ten millions thus employed, and there- 
fore not in circulation, is a very moderate one. 

Our final conclusion, then, is, that, with the 
£25,200,000 of paper, at this moment, (Dec. 1841) 
in circulation, — there may be from eight to ten 
millions of gold ; making, together, less than thirty- 
six millions — probably, less than thirty-four. But 
even so recently as in 1818, the paper currency 
alone amounted to nearly forty -eight millions ; ex- 
ceeding our present circulation, of gold and paper 
combined, by about one-fourth ! 

This, however, is only a partial view of the 
case. The nation has been prodigiously augment- 
ed since that period. Its population has increased, 
and its trade has still more rapidly grown and en- 
larged itself. The population of England and 
Wales in 1814 was under eleven millions ; — in 
1841 nearly sixteen millions. In 1814 our ex- 
ports were fifty-three millions ; our imports thirty- 
three. In 1840 our exports had risen to one 
hundred and sixteen millions ; and our imports 
to sixty-seven millions. Let us place these figures 
side by side, and at once the wretched inadequacy 
of our present currency will strike every mind. 



THE CURRENCY. 489 

1814. 1840—1. 

Population* 10,700,000 15,911,725 

Exports £53,573,234 £116,479,678 

Imports 33,755,263 67,432,964 

Currency 49,610,000 37,000,000 ! 

One circumstance, then, to which Mr. Sadler 
often adverted, and with which his mind was deep- 
ly impressed, was that of the insufficiency of the 
existing monetary system. 

But there was a second point, to which he fre- 
quently called attention ; — namely, the prodigious 
evils caused by the uncertainties and fluctuations 
of the present system, or rather, want of system ; 
— the bap-hazard way of dealing with the question, 
which has for so many years prevailed. 

In order to be generally understood, we will 
briefly exhibit the ebbs and flows of the last five- 
and-twenty years ; together with the effects of 
these high and low tides on commercial affairs. 

Year 

1816 
1817 
1818 
1819 
1820 

1821 28,699,500) (Great Distress; 

> < County Meetings 

1822 26,743,260] \ ca]1 ing for relirf. 

* We include England and Wales only, because, in giving the 
currency, we can only specify the English and W T elsh circulation. 



Bank Paper 


Effects 


£41,670,000 


Distress. 


44,168,000 




47,727,000 


Prosperity. 


41,358,948 


Distress. 


35,129,405 





490 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

Year Bank Paper Effects 

1823 29,502,422 

1824 33,124,658 j r Great prosperity 

1825 34,220,738 ) { and speculation 

1826 30,911,323 

1827 31,497,791 

1828 31,199,803 

1829 27,770,327^ f Great distress ; burn- 

1830 28,094,850 V- J ings, and meetings 

1831 26,370,824 J (. to petition 
1832 

1833 28,981,854 



Return of prosperity. 



1834 29,280,112^ 

1835 28,660,623 1 

1836 29,880,945' 

1837 28,858,049 

1838 30,723,962 

1839 28,696,970 

1840 27,212,286 

1841 26,561,077 to ^ f Distress and com- 
25,223,023 3 | plaining. 

These figures cannot adequately exhibit the 
whole of the facts. They do, however, direct our 
attention to these obvious points : — 

That in 1822, the paper-currency having fallen 
below twenty-seven millions, such distress was 
felt, that about one half of the counties in England 
met to call for relief; and at some of these meet- 
ings, propositions for a compromise with the na- 
tional creditor were received with favor : 

Yielding to this pressure, Parliament passed the 
small note-Bill ; thus again returning to the paper- 



THE CURRENCY. 491 

system. The bank-note currency soon rose to 
thirty-three and thirty-four millions ; (1824-5) and 
vast " prosperity" instantly appeared : 

In 1825 this produced the usual result of "a 
panic." Parliament once more determined to 
restrict the paper-currency ; and the small notes 
were again ordered to cease, from April, 1829 : 

This return to restriction immediately operated, 
and in 1829, 1830, and 1831, the currency fell to 
twenty-seven and twenty-six millions, and severe 
distress was again felt. The commencement of this 
distress was the main cause which drove the Minis- 
try of 1830 from office, and produced the Reform- 
Bill. 

Shortly after, the new Joint-Stock-Banks began 
to w r ork another enlargement of the currency. In 
1832 the issues of these Banks had not reached one 
million sterling; — in 1835 they amounted to four 
millions. Hence, in the course of 1835 and 1836, 
the whole paper-currency afloat repeatedly exceed- 
ed thirty millions ; while at the moment at which 
these lines are written, it is scarcely twenty-jive I 

Doubtless, to some persons the question will 
instantly occur,— -Can the mere addition or ab- 
straction of three or four millions to or from the 
paper-money afloat, ^work all the difference which is 
visible, between the prosperity of 1836, and the 
deep distress of 1841 ? 



492 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

We answer, — most undoubtedly it can, — and 
the question merely betrays a want of reflection 
and of observation. For the fact is, that the dimi- 
nution or increase of the currency is not to be 
considered as a diminution or increase of the whole, 
to the mere extent of perhaps a sixth or an eighth; 
but as a reduction of a certain part of the circulat- 
ing medium, to the fearful extent of probably one 
fourth or one third ! 

Is it not obvious, to any one who gives the 
least reflection to the subject, — that there are cer- 
tain large classes of the community which are wholly 
unaffected by either the increase or the diminu- 
tion of the circulating medium. The entire mass 
of annuitants, whether deriving their incomes 
from the national debt, the army, or the navy, or 
from property invested in bonds and mortgages of 
various descriptions ; the judges, and the leading 
members of the legal profession ; the clergy, and 
several other large classes of the community ; — 
all these may hear of a scarcity of money, or of a 
glut, but they feel it not, or so slightly as to be 
scarcely worth the mention. Each half-year sees 
its fourteen millions of money paid from the Bank 
to the fundholders ; and whether money be scarce, 
or plentiful, the amount which they receive is pre- 
cisely the same. 

In like manner another very large class, — called 



THE CURRENCY. 493 

" the landed interest," may be, and at this mo- 
ment is, very little affected by the diminution of 
the currency. Prices are just now at a remuner- 
ating level for the farmer. He sells his produce 
at a fair price ; and pays his rent with punctuality. 
Neither he, therefore, nor his landlord, feel any- 
thing, of the depression which at this moment 
pervades the " commercial interests." Again,— 
ask such establishments as Mess. Hoares, in Fleet 
Street, or Mess. Coutts or Hemes, in Westminister, 
what they know of " commercial distress," and they 
will reply, "Just what we read in the newspapers." 
In such circles as these, everything proceeds just 
as it would if the issues of the Bank of England were 
five or six millions larger than they now are. It 
matters nothing to them whether money be scarce 
or plentiful ; their stock of gold or of bank-notes 
remains the same, whatever be the "pressure" 
or the " buoyancy " felt in " the money-market." 
In all such quarters, whether we turn to the no- 
ble, of fifty or an hundred thousand a year ; or to 
the retired holder of consols; or to the judge, or 
the general, or the bishop, whose income is always 
the same ; or to the banker or agent who " never 
speculates," — in all these classes there is no de- 
pression, there is no excess ; their share of the 
currency is at all times nearly the same. Hence 
it follows, that when we observe a difference of 



494 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

five millions, — as will be found between the paper 
afloat in Oct. 1838, and that in Dec. 1841— we 
may be sure that this five millions is deducted, 
not from the whole paper-currency, but from that 
portion of the bank-note circulation which is usual- 
ly employed in trade and commerce. If we con- 
clude that half of the £30,7*23,962 which was 
afloat in October 1838, was employed in trade, 
then we may safely calculate that, as there is only 
£25,223,023 afloat in December 1841, the whole, 
or nearly the whole, of this reduction of five mill- 
ions, has been drawn from that portion of the 
currency which was employed in commercial trans- 
actions ; and that in lieu of £15,000,000 so em- 
ployed in 1838, there is only £10,000,000 now. 

And is not this a startling fact ? Can we be sur- 
prized to find a sudden paralysis seizing on every 
branch of trading, commercial, or manufacturing 
industry ? Is not such an affliction fully accounted 
for ? Need we turn, as some are idiotically 
doing, to the Corn Laws for a solution of our pre- 
sent difficulties; trying to make it appear consist- 
ent and rational, that the same Corn Laws which 
co-existed with " great prosperity" in 1835 and 
1836, should yet be the sole cause of great distress 
in 1841 ! Does not common sense shew us, at a 
single glance, that a system of prohibition of 
foreign corn which has lasted, in various forms, 



THE CURRENCY. 



495 



for five-and-twenty years, and has not prevented the 
occurrence in that time of several periods of great 
prosperity, can never be the cause of the depres- 
sion we now see. On the other hand, nothing can 
be plainer, nothing more indisputable, than the 
fact, that whenever we have a fall and overflowing 
circulating medium, then trade and manufactures 
flourish ; while, on the other hand, whenever a 
reduction of the currency takes place, a depres- 
sion fully answerable is instantly felt throughout 
all our marts and exchanges. 

The familiar knowledge of this fact, however, 
is too little diffused among the people. Were 
it not so, they could not be befooled into be- 
lieving, as many now do, — that the corn-laws have 
wrought the existing depression. Mr. Sadler, 
fully comprehending the importance of the ques- 
tion, in all its bearings, would have desired to 
see both the government and the people more 
familiarly conversant with its leading principles. 
He felt convinced that by neither the one nor the 
other was its intrinsic weight properly appreciated. 
The government, busied with other affairs, left the 
monetary system to shift for itself; and the peo- 
ple, driven to and fro by every fancy of the theorist, 
bawled for or against the Bank- Charter, or for 
or against Joint- Stock- Banks, as the case might 
be ; but never appeared thoroughly to understand, 



496 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

and to insist upon, the two, grand, necessary points, 
— that the circulating medium should be sufficient ; 
and that it should be equally and steadily supplied. 

To provide for the nation in these two indispen- 
sable points, Mr. Sadler held to be the duty of 
the government. We cannot assert him to have 
been the favorer of this or that particular scheme ; 
but on these two main objects his eye was always 
fixed. 

Whether they would not be most entirely and 
securely attained by a National Bank, or a State 
paper-money, issued by a distinct government 
office ; only on the security of funded property ; 
and without variation in amount, except within 
strictly-defined limits, — may be matter of opinion. 
Could some such scheme be devised, and could 
any government summon up courage enough to 
propound it, it is clear that two benefits would re- 
sult. First, an annual profit to the government, of 
about one million, minus the expense of the estab- 
lishment ; and secondly, an equable state of trade ; 
the establishment and maintainance of which, 
would, of itself, be one of the greatest benefits 
that could be conferred on the whole country. 

The first and most lamentable want, however, 
evidently is,— that of a clearer and better under- 
standing of this matter among the people at large. 



THE CURRENCY. 497 

We are not desiring to inculcate any new or 
strange doctrine, when we assert, in the words of 
the Bullion Report of 1810, that " an increase in 
the quantity of the local currency of a particular 
country will raise prices in that country, exactly 
in the same manner as an increase in the general 
supply of precious metals raises prices all over 
the world." 

Thus, for instance, a sheep, six hundred years 
ago, might be bought in England for one, two, or 
three shillings. The purchase of the same kind of 
animal would now require twenty, thirty, or forty 
shillings. The cause of this advance is not to be 
found in the greater scarcity of sheep, leading to 
an enhancement of price ; but to the influx of the 
precious metals, and the consequent greater abun- 
dance of money. 

In like manner, observes Dr. Johnson, " If eggs 
are a penny a dozen in the Highlands, it is not 
because eggs are many, but because pence are 
few." 

The augmentation of the money of Europe, and 
of the world, arising from the discovery of the 
American mines, has raised prices throughout the 
globe; probably fifteen hundred per cent. If new 
mines could be discovered, which, in the next ten 
years, should treble the quantity of gold and 
silver now in circulation, the consequence would 

2 K 



498 THE LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

necessarily be, that prices, generally, would rise 
to three times their present level. 

The same effect would be produced, if this or 
any other country could isolate itself, and could 
then augment its currency by means of paper- 
money, keeping that paper-money in good credit. 

This we may observe in the years between 
1810 to 1818. We had then often nearly fifty 
millions of paper-money in circulation. The ne- 
cessary consequence was, that prices were, gene- 
rally, about twice what they now are. We are 
accustomed to speak of " war-prices ;" — the more 
accurate description would be, " paper-money 
prices." 

In 1819, the legislature resolved on changing 
this system. They declared, that every person 
issuing a bank-note should be compelled to ex- 
change it, whenever called upon, for a certain 
fixed amount of gold. This involved the dis- 
continuance and destruction of nearly one-half 
of the existing paper-money. 

Now, as the issue of that paper-money had 
raised prices at least from sixty to one hundred 
per cent., it necessarily followed, that the recal 
of it reduced prices in an equal degree. This we 
have already shewn in a former chapter. # 

* See p. 38. 



THE CURRENCY. 499 

Hence, by the return to cash payments, in 1819, 
we did in effect reduce prices about one-half, 
leaving the National Debt unaltered ; which was 
tantamount to a practical doubling of that burden. 

It is important that this operation of " low 
prices " should be understood ; and that the peo- 
ple should learn how much their commercial pros- 
perity depends upon the state of the currency. 

We have already seen, again and again, by the 
changes which took place between 1819 and 1822, 
and between 1822 and 1824, and between 1824 
and 1826, and between 1830 and 1836, and be- 
tween 1838 and 1841, — how fearfully the addition 
or subtraction of four or five millions, to or from 
the currency, may raise or depress the whole 
trading and manufacturing interests of these king- 
doms. Surely, then, the people should keep their 
attention steadily fixed on this point ; and not be 
led into foolish and endless fancies about " free- 
trade" and " commercial tariffs ; " when the fact 
is, that with an insufficient circulating medium, 
no imaginable tariff which the wit of man could 
devise, could make trade prosperous, or prices 
remunerating. 

There is another kind of folly into which the 
English people have been recently led, and which 
seems to be becoming more and more rife, daily, 
from the absence of opposition ; — we allude to 

2 K 2 



500 THE LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

the passion for cheapness ; the encouragement 
given to competition ; and the perpetual assump- 
tion that a lowering of prices must be a public good. 

Now even such a political economist as Smith, 
had sense enough to see and to declare, that 
" High prices and plenty are prosperity ; low 
prices and want are misery." And nothing can 
be more certain than the fact ; that if we seek out 
those spots of the earth where prices are the 
lowest, there we shall always find, as a never- 
absent concomitant, a great degree of misery and 
want among the people. 

But surely if ever there was a people who were 
bound in a peculiar manner to eschew low prices, 
the English are that people. 

Imagine, for a moment, a village containing 
twelve heads of families and employers, (besides 
servants and labourers,)— ten of whom are pro- 
ducers, growers, or artificers ; while the other 
two live upon fixed rents or interest of money, 
paid to them by the former ten. Suppose, then, 
that a mania for cheapness seizes upon these 
people ; encouraged, of course, by the two per- 
sons who are non-producers ; and imagine that by 
competition, and the fear of competition, all their 
produce and the fruits of their industry are 
equally and simultaneously reduced one-half; or, 
at least, so reduced, as to bring down their pro- 



THE CURRENCY. 501 

fits, and also their expenses, by a clear fifty per 
cent : Is it not abundantly obvious, that the only 
real gainers by the change, would be, the two 
who lived on their fixed incomes ; and whose in- 
comes would now be, by the change, practically 
doubled ; while all that the producing class would 
realize, would be, the privilege of doing more bu- 
siness for the same incomes ? 

And where is the difference between this fan- 
cied case, and what we now see passing around 
us ? Could we single out the case of a holder of 
Consols, who drew a dividend of £1000. a year in 
1818, and who draws the same dividend now ; and 
could we call for the particulars of his expendi- 
ture ; we should assuredly find, that the very 
same house,* food, clothing, &c, which he ob- 
tained in 1818 for £1000. a year, he could have 
now, for £600., probably for £500. He is there- 
fore either saving £400. a year by the change, or 
else living in a much more luxurious manner. 
But what do the producers of his luxuries gain 
by the change ? Just the pleasure of doing 
much more business than before for the same 
aggregate profit. We have lately heard, through the 
public press, that the manufacturers in Manches- 

* House-rent has suffered less reduction than many other 
items; but dwellings which let for £130. to £150. in 1818, are 
now generally to be obtained at from £80. to £100. 



502 THE LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

ter are now giving thrice as many goods as they 
did in 1818, for the same money. And yet, 
strange to say, this infatuated course is gloried 
and exulted in by many, and still greater cheap- 
ness desiderated ! Not content with having dou- 
bled the National Debt once, they would gladly 
quadruple it ; and still fancy that they were doing 
the people of England good service. How many 
degrees of lunacy do these people require, to com- 
plete their qualification for Bedlam ? 



CHAPTER XV. 



ON THE NATIONAL ECONOMY OF THE ISRAELITES. 

Although we feel bound to advert to the topic 
which we have chosen for the present chapter, 
we are quite aware that it is absolutely impossi- 
ble that it should receive any thing like justice at 
our hands. The subject is so large ; it is one so 
little understood and so seldom handled ; and 
the materials before us are so slender, that we 
might well decline all allusion to the subject, 
were we not conscious that such an omission 
would operate as an act of injustice to Mr. Sad- 
ler's memory. The matter is so important; it 
occupied so large a space in his thoughts, and was 
so frequently adverted to in his conversation, that 
an entire silence with reference to it could not 
fail, with those who knew him, to bring our whole 



504 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

narrative into discredit. Much to be regretted is 
it, on every account, but especially on that of the 
public, that his long-cherished intention, of draw- 
ing up a distinct Essay on the subject, was post- 
poned from time to time, till neither strength nor 
mental force remained to him. All that we can do, 
in the absence of such a document, is briefly to 
indicate the general tenor of his thoughts, and to 
commend the topic to the serious investigation of 
those who are competent to the inquiry. 

Generally, then, we would say, that Mr. Sad- 
ler wholly dissented from the common opinion, — 
that the natural economy which was divinely 
prescribed to Moses for the governance of the chil- 
dren of Israel, was in its nature distinct from, 
and opposed to, what sound judgment would have 
dictated for any other nation. Certainly, the usual 
spirit in which men read the civil and political laws 
and institutes of Moses, — apart alike from the 
moral law of the ten commands, and the ceremo- 
nial worship of the temple,— -is that of wonder and 
ignorant curiosity. That such enactments can be 
at all adapted to the rest of mankind, they never 
dream. They look upon them as very strange 
and almost impracticable injunctions; which must, 
they suppose, have had some meaning, considering 
that they came from God himself; — but which 
never could have been intended to extend to any but 



ON THE NATIONAL ECONOMY OF THE ISRAELITES. 505 

Israelites ; or, in fact, have been possible in their 
application, had they even been so intended. 

Such readers of the books of Moses forget that 
these laws were prescribed, not to the children 
of Jacob only, but to all those, also, who joined 
them as proselytes ; and, that, beyond all doubt, 
the happiest thing that could have befallen all 
the other nations of the earth, would have been 
their conversion to Judaism, and their being thus 
brought under these very laws. 

Mr. Sadler wholly rejected the customary 
notion. So far from reading the institutes of Moses 
as mere records of laws wholly inapplicable to any 
existing society, — he read them for instruction : 
thoroughly receiving them as the dicta of the 
highest wisdom, and the lessons of the purest 
benevolence. So far did he carry this conviction, 
that we believe he would scarcely have hesitated 
to re-enact the whole Mosaical code, for any civi- 
lized and Christian nations of the present day. 

Throughout his published writings, he constantly 
appeals to the institutes of Moses, as to the highest 
possible authority. In his book on Ireland, he 
thus rapidly but emphatically calls in the autho- 
rity of the Jewish lawgiver : — 

" In the institutions of the Jewish legislator, 
which, as Montesquieu somewhere observes, were 
to the Israelites positive laws, though we read them 



506 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

only as precepts, the legal provision for the poor 
holds a most conspicuous place, and has, probably, 
been the foundation of all similar institutions 
throughout Christendom. The tithe of every third 
year, stored for the purpose ; the remnant of the 
crops of every year (fixed at one-sixtieth part) ; the 
share of the entire produce of every seventh year; 
independently of sundry other benevolent ordi- 
nances, of much importance, made in their behalf, 
— formed a provision for the poor of Israel which 
has, as yet, never been equalled in any country of 
the world. On the lowest possible computation, 
were that institution transferred to England, it 
would treble the amount now raised amongst us. 
And this ample provision was carried into effect and 
penally enforced. Besides all this, it ought to be 
remembered that the fundamental institutions of 
the Theocracy, such as the minute division of pro- 
perty, and its restoration to the original owners or 
their descendants, every fiftieth year ; preserved 
perhaps, a vaster mass of the population in equal 
and easy circumstances than was ever the case 
with any other people. The learned Selden has 
written on the provision for the poor of Israel, and 
to him I must refer for further information on this 
interesting subject. I shall not, however, omit 
confronting by this divine institution a modern 
objection to our own poor-laws, and certainly the 



ON THE NATIONAL ECONOMY OF THE ISRAELITES. 507 

most absurd, notwithstanding its prevalence, of 
any that has hitherto been advanced. It is now 
said that a public provision for the poor is totally 
subversive of the very principle and nature of 
charity. Such might as well affirm that the 
voluntary fulfilment of those other duties of social 
or public life, which happen to be recognised and 
enjoined by law, (and they are many,) likewise 
loses all its value. But to the point. Is not 
voluntary charity connected with this public pro- 
vision for the poor, in these sacred records ? Let 
those who doubt it, turn to the laws and exhorta- 
tions of Moses and the prophets, and they will 
soon be satisfied on this head. Notwithstanding 
the legal relief prescribed, still the duty of per- 
sonal charity, the liberality with which it should 
be dispensed, and the generous feelings with 
which its exercise was to be accompanied, are 
solemnly dictated ; " Thou shalt surely give him ; 
and thy heart shall not be grieved when thou 
givest unto him : because that for this thing the 
Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, 
and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto. For 
the poor shall never cease out of the land. There- 
fore, I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open 
thine hand wide to thy brother, to thy poor, and 
thy needy in the land." (Deut. xv. 10, 11.) 

" I shall not refrain from going further into the 



508 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

subject, as it respects the institutions of Moses, 
We have seen that the right of the poor, and their 
"business to be where they are, "—are there fully 
recognised : even the term itself is sanctioned in 
holy writ. And only suppose that the Deity has 
the same merciful consideration for an Irishman 
as for an Israelite, and then some of the passages 
may, perhaps, be found striking. God is repre- 
sented there as the bestower of this right : — " Be- 
hold, God is mighty, and despiseth not any ; he is 
mighty in strength and wisdom : he giveth right 
to the poor." (Job xxxvi. 5, 6.) As the upholder 
of it : — " The Lord will maintain the cause of the 
afflicted, and the right of the poor." (Ps. cxl. 
12.) As its awful vindicator : — " Woe unto them 
that take away the right of the poor : " (Isa. x. 
2.) The ground of this right is likewise revealed 
to us ; and an awful and unalienable one it is ! — 
" The land is mine, and ye are the strangers and 
sojourners with me !" (Lev. xxv. 23.) It is founded 
on the sufficiency of divine providence : — " Thou, 
O God, hast prepared of thy bounty for the poor !" 
(Ps. lxviii. 10.) On the feelings of human kin- 
dred :— " Thy poor brother!" (Deut. xv. 7.) On 
respect for human misery : — " Thou shalt not vex 
him ; thou shalt surely give him !" (Deut. xv.) 
On the vicissitudes of human life : — " Love ye 
therefore the strangers, for ye were strangers !" 



ON THE NATIONAL ECONOMY OF THE ISRAELITES. 509 

(Deut. x. 19.) On the grateful remembrance of 
past mercies : — " It shall be for the stranger, for 
the fatherless and the widow ; and thou shalt re- 
member that thou wert a bondman in the land of 
Egypt:" (Deut. xxiv. 21, 22.) On the certain 
prospect of human suffering : — " Blessed be the 
man that considereth the poor and needy : the 
Lord will deliver him in his time of trouble ; will 
preserve ; will comfort ; will strengthen him, 
when he lieth sick upon his bed," (Ps. xli. 1 — 3). 
It is guaranteed by the promises of God; — "For 
this thing the Lord thy God will bless thee :" 
(Deut. xv. 10.) By his denunciations : — " If thou 
afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto 
me, I will surely hear their cry ; and my wrath 
shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword, 
and your wives shall be widows and your children 
fatherless!" (Exod. xxii. 23,24,) It is further 
represented as a right, for the neglect of which the 
observance of no other duties, however sacred, will 
atone : — " Incense is an abomination to me ! — 
Relieve the oppressed ; judge the fatherless ; plead 
for the widow !" (Isa. i. 13, 17.) " Is not this the 
fast that I have chosen ? — to deal thy bread to the 
hungry ! and that thou bring the poor that are cast 
out, to thy house ! when thou seest the naked, that 
thou cover him ; and that thou hide not thyself 
from thine own flesh !" (Isa. lviii. 6, 7.) And lastly, 



510 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

and above all, the Deity has connected this right 
of the poor with the highest and most distinguished 
attributes of His nature, and placed His pity for 
them amongst His brightest perfections and sub- 
limest titles : — " Sing unto God, sing praises to 
his name, extol him that rideth upon the heavens, 
by his name Jah, and rejoice before him. A father 
of the fatherless, a judge of the widows, is God, 
in his holy habitation." (Ps. Ixviii. 4, 5.) Hear 
Moses' last sublime description of him : " The 
Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, 
a great God, a mighty and a terrible ! — He doth 
execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, 
and loveth the stranger in giving him food and 
raiment ! Love ye therefore the stranger ! " 

11 Institutions like these, and so guaranteed, had 
doubtless a wonderful effect on the people on whom 
they were imposed. We are told, now, that this 
care and preservation of the poor would increase 
population; this, however, was regarded by the 
divine philosopher and legislator of Israel as a sig- 
nal mark of the divine complacency, and experi- 
ence proved it such. Hence he exultingly adds to 
the passage last quoted : " Thy fathers went down 
into Egypt with threescore and ten persons, and 
now the Lord thy God hath made thee as the stars 
of heaven for multitude !"" * 

* Ireland, its Evils, #c. 8vo. pp. 212 — 217. 



ON THE NATIONAL ECONOMY OF THE ISRAELITES. 511 

Again, among the papers which Mr. Sadler had 
prepared for a continuation of his work on Popula- 
tion, the following rapid sketch of this part of the 
argument appears : — 

" There is one authority of antiquity to whom 
Mr. Malthus has declined making any appeal ; 
the motive of which neglect, however, it is not very 
difficult to assign. It is not because of the want of 
sufficient antiquity ; for it concerns the most ancient 
legislator in the world, of whom we have any cer- 
tain account; — it is not because his institutions are 
imperfectly known to us ; for we know them now 
more minutely, than any nation did the regula- 
tions of their lawgivers thousands of years ago. It 
is not because they were never carried into effect, 
— on the contrary, they remained the unalterable 
code of a numerous people, for a longer period than 
any other nation upon earth retained their customs. 
Nor can it be, because when put into practice, 
they were found to be imperfectly adapted to the 
prosperity and welfare of the people to whom 
they were given ; for we know, on the contrary, 
that never were any people similarly circum- 
stanced, who attained to so high a pitch of national 
prosperity, as those on whom they were conferred. 
It is not because they have no reference to the 
subject at issue ; for it is contemplated in them 
more fully, and provided for more efficaciously, than 



512 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

by any code upon earth, existing, or that ever did 
exist. Lastly, it cannot be, because that they are 
too antiquated to have any reference to modern 
times, or the present condition of society ; for they 
were the precursor, if not the foundation, of that 
sacred religion which influences the opinions and 
institutions of the civilized world. Touching our 
own laws, our unrivalled legislator, the great 
Alfred, made them the foundation of that code 
which is the admiration of the earth : — I mean the 
laws of Moses. 

" To this sacred authority, from which the learn- 
ed believe that the best philosophers of antiquity 
derived their highestillumination ; and to which the 
most eloquent of those writers appealed, as afford- 
ing the highest example of sublimity of expression, 
Mr. Malthus has made not the least allusion ! He 
" hears not Moses and the prophets." That legis- 
lator and philosopher, was not one of Mr. Mal- 
thus's " thinking persons ;" though the " smallness 
of the state," to which he had to lead the multi- 
tude committed to him, and still more the twelve 
divisions into which he was to apportion it, one 
might have thought would have " brought the 
subject home to him ;" at all events, if Mr. Mal- 
thus's view of the principle of population had been 
true, it would have been brought home to every 
person, feeling as well as " thinking," who had the 



ON THE NATIONAL ECONOMY OF THE ISRAELITES. 513 

misfortune to be confined within the narrow limits 
assigned to his tribe, and subject to those institu- 
tions which had a constant and necessary tendency 
to multiply their numbers ; and consequently (on 
the footing of this theory) to perpetuate and in- 
crease human wants beyond endurance, and spread 
their concomitants, wretchedness and profligacy. 

" In looking at the legislative theories of the phi- 
losophers, or at the institutions of the legislators, of 
antiquity ; and giving them full credit for a sincere 
intention of securely providing for the subsistence 
of the people, in a comfortable and sufficient me- 
diocrity, it is impossible not to be struck with the 
great difficulty they had to encounter, — inseparable, 
indeed, from their fundamental principle, — that 
of an original division of territory into primary 
and integral parts, assigning one of these to 
every citizen ; and the constant preservation of 
them in that form of equality. They thus at- 
tempted what was a palpable impossibility, — -to 
make the number of children coincide exactly 
with the number of these unalterable shares. Their 
expedients were numerous, in order to obviate this 
difficulty, but they were all inefficient. But ? again, 
had they succeeded in doing so, the consequences 
would still have been most pernicious. Nothing- 
could have encouraged more fatally that sloth 
which is inherent in our natural constitution, and 

2 l 



514 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

all the demoralizing and fatal consequences it pro- 
duces, than the certainty of this support; connected 
with the system of slavery which their insti- 
tutions invariably recognized. Excitements might 
remain, under such a state of things, to the heroic 
and ambitious passions ; but there could be but 
little room for the social or domestic virtues, or 
that happiness which they alone can constitute. 
This territorial division was doubtless intended to 
furnish the citizens with a certain support, and to 
maintain as large a community of them as might 
be practicable, on a system approaching to equa- 
lity ; and to repress that undue accumulation of 
property which is conceived to be injurious at all 
times ; but which, when so few sources of human 
industry were developed, must have been more 
peculiarly so. But the difficulties attending these 
schemes were insurmountable, and the chief portion 
of Aristotle's work is taken up in pointing them 
out. 

" It is here that the superiority of the Mosaic 
legislation is most conspicuous. Many parts of that 
system would shew its author to have been one of 
the profoundest philosophers that ever existed, 
even were we to assign to him no higher charac- 
ter ;* but in this instance he has evinced the most 

* For instance ; his prescribing rest to the land of Canaan , 
at least every seventh year. It was the dream, for awhile, 



ON THE NATIONAL ECONOMY OF THE ISRAELITES. 515 

intimate knowledge of human nature and human 
interests, and the deepest attention to human rights. 
He accomplishes in behalf of his people more than 
all the legislators of antiquity attempted ; yet so as 
to avoid all those fatal consequences which were 
deemed inevitable, and found to be so. He divides 
the land, circumscribed as the whole was within 
narrow limits, into twelve parts ; and these divi- 
sions were to be parcelled out amongst the heads 
of families; but here the partition stops. Room is 
left from human industry ; its motive and its scope 
are both continued. But above all, he still allowed 
the fluctuation of property for a limited time ; after 
which it was again to revert back to its original 
heirs, This term was fifty years ; sufficiently long- 
to afford all the advantages (and important they 
were,) resulting from the fluctuation of property, 
and from the stimulus and reward of exertion ; 
but not long enough to inflict an irreparable mis- 
chief upon all the innocent heirs of the improvident 

of our modern agriculturists, that there might be a perpetual 
succession of crops ; this, however, it was found, could never be pur- 
sued with impunity without extraneous manures ; which at once 
shewed its impossibility as a general system . But that a legisla- 
tor from Egypt, where no fallows ever take place, in consequence 
of the fertilizing inundations of the Nile, — should institute a sep- 
tennial fallow, might be adduced as an unparalleled instance 
of sagacity and wisdom ; even supposing it to have proceeded 
from no higher source. 

2 L 2 



516 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

and profligate, and finally to derange the beautiful 
simplicity and benevolence of his system. Wealth, 
therefore, could not be greatly monopolized, (a tre- 
mendous evil in a strictly agricultural country,) nor 
yet could the country ever be without it, (which next 
to that would be its greatest curse ;) — the per- 
mission to purchase and to hold any quantity of 
land that might be offered for sale, until the year of 
Jubilee, would leave abundant scope for the exer- 
cise of the faculty of accumulation. But where 
there is wealth, there must also be poverty and 
distress ; indeed there will be the latter, whether 
the former exists or not, in every country, and at 
all times. The axiom of the inspired legislator 
touching these, was this : " The poor shall never 
cease out of the land." These he recommended, 
under the most touching considerations, and by 
the most solemn exhortations, to the constant and 
unwearied attention of the prosperous ; exhibiting 
the character of that Jehovah, whose worship 
and service he established, as their friend, their 
supporter, their avenger. Nor did he stop here : 
greatly differing from our modern philosophers and 
divines, he joined together, in his system, what 
no man can with impunity put asunder, — voluntary 
charity and compulsory relief. His system of poor- 
laws is the most admirable that can be conceived : 
— their nature, both with regard to the burden they 



ON THE NATIONAL ECONOMY OF THE ISRAELITES. 517 

enforced, and the way in which it was exacted, will 
form a small portion of the subject of a subsequent 
work ; # in the mean time, I beg leave to refer the 
reader to the learned Selden on this interesting and 
seldom-considered subject. 

" On the subject of marriage, and the increase 
of the species, it is surely unnecessary to say, 
that never was there a legislator so explicit. He 
announces this duty, as from the mouth of the 
Creator, and records, as His primary command : — 
" Increase and multiply." He represents the same 
Eternal Being as reiterating this law at the renova- 
tion of the species. Constantly does he represent 
God as conferring fecundity as His special bless- 
ing ; not merely on individuals, but on nations. In 
a word, he makes the unlimited multiplication of 
the species, a test and token of the Divine com- 
placency. 

" But did he, after thus directly promoting popu- 
lation by all possible means — invent or prescribe 
any " checks ;" whereby to pull down with one 
hand, what he built up with the other ? There 
is nothing of the kind to be found in his legisla- 
tion ; there is nothing that can be twisted or 
tortured into such a meaning ; otherwise we may 
rest assured the attempt would have been made. 

* Referring to his projected Essay on the Mosaic Economy. 



518 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

" Rather may it be asserted, that the whole 
system was in consonance with the first and 
universal command before mentioned. The post- 
ponement of the period of marriage in either 
sex, so as to balance the effect of its universality, 
— is now constantly recommended,— assuming 
prolificness to be naturally excessive. On the 
contrary, the expounders of the Mosaic law, the 
Rabbins, not only held the original command to be 
imperative on all, but fixed the period of obedience 
for both sexes very early, — that of the men at 
eighteen,^ the females at twelve, which was deemed 
a ripe age.f They might marry sooner, but were 
not allowed to postpone it later,J and very harsh 
constructions were put upon the conduct of those 
who did. Finally, celibacy was regarded as a 
reproach ;§ and to build up the house of their fathers, 
and keep the name alive in Israel, an honourable 
duty. It is therefore reasonable to believe they 
would universally marry, and such we know to 
have been the fact. 

" If the institutions of Moses did not place any 
limitation to increase, either by restraining marri- 
ages, or by prescribing the periods at which they 

* Leo of Modena. Cerem. des Juess. p. 3. 

t Selden, Uxor. Heb. c. ii.p. 3. 

X Calmet's Dissertations. Sur les Mar. des Juiss. p. 1. 

§ Isa. iv. 1. 



ON THE NATIONAL ECONOMY OF THE ISRAELITES. 519 

should take place, or continue prolific ; much less 
did they tolerate the idea of rectifying the prolific- 
ness and increase of the species by child-murder. 
Moses is the only ancient legislator in the world, 
of whom we have any distinct knowledge, who 
forbids, under all circumstances whatsoever, this 
atrocious and detestable crime. His people were 
fully made aware that it was for this very offence, 
amongst others, that the nations whom they were 
to dispossess of Canaan, were devoted to destruc- 
tion ; it was represented as so enormous, that the 
land itself was defiled with it, and ready to vomit 
forth its cruel and polluted inhabitants. They 
were threatened with equal chastisements, if they 
participated in the like offence. So much for the 
fairness of those who ascribe cruelty and partiality 
to the maxims of this great legislator. That these 
laws were effectual, we cannot doubt ; even pro- 
fane history records the fact. The candid and 
accurate historian before quoted, says of them, 
that " to kill their infants is thought by the Jews 
to be a heinous sin." * 

" The system of slavery, it is well observed, is 
exceedingly hostile to the multiplication of the 
species ; especially that sort of slavery which 
prevailed amongst the Greeks and Romans ; invest- 
ing the haughty master with the command of the 

* Tacitus. Hist. 1. 5. 



520 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

life of his wretched victim in many cases ; and in 
most others with * rights,' as they were termed, 
totally incompatible with his well-being. Per- 
petual servitude, to a certain extent, was certainly 
permitted by the Mosaic system ; some of the in- 
bitants of the land were allowed to remain under 
bondage ; and it is no stretch of imagination to be- 
lieve that the change of masters, to such, was 
most happy : it would not, however, have been 
prudent to have granted to them that influence in 
the community, which might have endangered the 
institutions established amongst the chosen peo- 
ple, and which it required all the vigilance of the 
legislator to preserve. But the number of these 
bond-servants must have been exceedingly lim- 
ited, * and could have had no effect whatever on 
the growth of the general population. Perpetual 
servitude, too, was allowed among the Hebrews 
themselves, but it was to be voluntary ; after long- 
experience of the state to which the party had to 
submit, and the master to whom he submitted 
himself; and under prescribed public formalities. 
But this servitude, or, if you please so to call it, 
Slavery, amongst the Hebrews, had nothing in com- 
mon with the system used amongst the heathen 
nations. Even as it regarded the lowest state of 

* Patrick on Exod, xxi. 



ON THE NATIONAL ECONOMY OF THE ISRAELITES. 521 

it ; " thy man-servant, and thy maid -servant, or 
the stranger that is within thy gates," — none of 
the duties of humanity were to be withheld, 
much less outraged; needful rest was ordained ; 
necessary support, even to the poorest and most 
unprotected, was prescribed ; nor even were their 
feelings to be wounded : " Thou shalt not vex 
him, for thou shalt remember that thou also wast 
a stranger in the land of Egypt. " The laws of 
Moses were not those of Draco ; but they most 
scrupulously protected the person from wrongful 
treatment, and severely retaliated when the rights 
of the people were infringed ; much more so when 
life was endangered or taken : but those laws were 
to extend to those in whose behalf they were the 
most wanted. Those who quote Moses on behalf 
of slavery, it is to be wished, would please to 
confine the slavery for which they plead to that 
of Moses. There was no toleration for barbarity 
to the meanest or the most unprotected of the 
human race : even if one of these wretched beings 
fled from a cruel and oppressive master, they were 
interdicted from delivering him up again. " He 
shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that 
place which he liketh best. Thou shalt not op- 
press him !" These, their servants, were, it need 
not be added, permitted to marry ; it is taken for 
granted in these laws, that they would, and that 



522 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

they would be prolific* Even the father of this 
wonderful people, Abraham, could arm 318 of 
his servants — not captured in war, not seized by 
piracy, by which the ranks of slavery were re- 
plenished amongst the polite nations ; (for we find 
him disdaining such means of aggrandisement, )j" 
but born in his own house. J 

" May 1 add, that this sacred legislator did not 
confine his consideration to human beings; he ex- 
tended it even to the animal creation : he forbade 
any outrage upon even their feelings and appe- 
tites : he enjoined, at short and stated intervals, a 
total cessation from the otherwise perpetual 
labour of those which are doomed to a state of 
toil; as well brutes as human beings; so that his 
institution of the Sabbath is perhaps even yet 
more an institution of mercy than of devotion : 
he respected life indeed in its humblest form, but 
especially maternal life ; of which instances must 
instantly rise in the reader's mind, of exquisite sim- 
plicity and pathos ;§ all doubtless having a special 
and further end in view ; to inspire those to whom 
his laws were promulgated, with the strongest con- 
sideration for the like portion of the human race, 
especially under similar and unprotected circum- 



* Levit. xxv. 41. f Gen. xiv. J Gen. xiv. 14. 

§ Ex. xxiii. 19; xxxiv. 26. Deut. xiv. 21 ; xxii. 6, 7. 



ON THE NATIONAL ECONOMY OF THE ISRAELITES. 523 

stances. But I forget myself : I am contending 
with a system which despises such feelings — which 
can look upon the prolificness of the matron as a 
proof of her self-indulgence merely ; and which sees 
in the child (pure or impure) an object of, compa- 
ratively speaking/ little value to society — "others 
would supply their place !" But to return : — 

" We find, then, here, the historical test of Mr. 
Malthus's system. A country confessedly of small 
extent ; and that extent not nearly all cultivated, or 
even^cultivatable ; though somewhat larger and far 
more prolific than Mr. Gibbon allows it to be, who 
describes it as "a territory scarcely superior to 
Wales, either in fertility or extent." # Yet the 
inhabitants of this country, so early as the reign of 
David, amounted probably to nearly seven millions 
of souls, independently of the strangers who still 
partially inhabited the territory ; and we have 
reason to suppose that it was afterwards even yet 
more populous. Without entering into any minute 
calculation, it was doubtless more than thrice as 
thickly peopled as Great Britain, and more than 
six times as much so as China ! That " the preven- 
tive check " did not operate at all, nor indeed found 
entrance amongst them, we have already given 



* Templeman however only estimates it at one-sixth of the 
extent of England. 



524 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

abundant proof; and that the grand positive one, 
War, fromwhichit is true they were not exempted, 
though less exposed to its ravages probably than 
many of the surrounding nations, — did not materi- 
ally thin their population, we have the evidence 
of numerous facts to shew. Unwholesome occu- 
pations they had none, and one would suppose 
their numbers must have effectually prevented 
those excesses which are still more fatal. Nearly 
the whole business, then, of " keeping down the 
numbers" of this wonderful people " to the level 
of their means of subsistence," must have devolved 
upon pestilence and famine. Visitations of this 
kind their sacred historians seem never to have 
omitted recording ; they were too intent on resolv- 
ing them into judicial punishments from Jehovah, 
on a faithless people transgressing his revealed 
laws. But we find fewer instances of famine in 
the long period which their authentic history 
embraces, stretching onwards over nearly two 
thousand years, — than have often occurred in this 
country in half a century. The most grievous 
of them occurred in the first stage of their his- 
tory; when there were not so many hundreds of 
them, no nor tens of hundreds, as there were 
afterwards millions. Pestilences amongst them 
are represented as still rarer. But perhaps what 
will be deemed more satisfactory proof as to 



ON THE NATIONAL ECONOMY OF THE ISRAELITES. 525 

the sufficiency of the supply for this immense 
population, and consequently that neither of these 
scourges were necessary to thin their numbers in 
order to their being fed, — is afforded by those inci- 
dental evidences which are scattered through every 
part of their history, plainly indicating a state of 
plenty and happiness ; while the language of their 
prophets, inveighing against the luxury of the na- 
tion, may be held as conclusive evidence that they 
were not, as a nation, suffering from want. In like 
manner, in the Scriptures of the New Testament, 
we find not the least indication of general suffering 
from want of food, nor any evidence that the 
other check, pestilence, was in operation. We 
have abundant reason, nevertheless, to believe, that 
at this period the population was exceedingly 
numerous, compared with any thing now known 
in the world ; though we have no documents 
whereby to calculate with any degree of exactness 
its amount. The story of the siege of Jerusalem, 
and the immense number of Jews eno-a^ed in de- 
fending their capital, who fell by sword and famine 
during the siege, or were slaughtered or dispersed 
after it was taken, — though the Christian part of 
the population, then exceedingly numerous, had, 
on the faith of the prophecy of Christ, previously 
withdrawn, — affords abundant evidence of the 
astonishing populousness of Judea in reference to 



526 LIFE OP MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

its extent. This indeed is a fact to which cotem- 
porary heathen authors bear abundant testimony, 
and it has, I believe, never been disputed. 

" Now, that this population, immense as it was, 
subsisted themselves on their own territory, we 
have the best of all possible proof; namely, because 
they had nothing wherewith to procure or purchase 
supplies from other countries. They had no mines 
to open ; they engaged in no manufactures ; but, as 
Josephus informs us, were entirely employed in 
agriculture ; and under such circumstances, and 
by a similar course, it is no hyperbole to assert, 
that the present produce of the earth would in 
this, or any nation where, heretofore, so much of 
the labour has been directed to other objects, be 
increased many fold, and perhaps with an equal 
accession of human happiness. 

" The Mosaic law was certainly the best cal- 
" culated to make a people happy, by obliging 
" every man to live by his labour, without luxury 
" or ambition, and free from the danger of being 
" totally ruined, from the temptation of becoming 
" excessively rich, or from too great a desire after 
" change and novelty. Every man cultivated his 
" own vine, field, or orchard, and could indifferent- 
" ly handle the plough and flail, or the sword and 
" bow, as occasion required ; but preferred still a 
" quiet life under his vine and fig-tree. This is 



ON THE NATIONAL ECONOMY OF THE ISRAELITES. 527 

' what their law-giver enforced, not only by the 
' example of the old patriarchs, but much more 
' by the blessings promised to their obedience ; 
' these were neither gold, nor silver, nor precious 
6 stones ; stately houses nor sumptuous furniture ; 
1 but the former and the latter rain, regular sea- 
' sons, plenty of corn, wine, and oil, increase of 
' cattle, multitude of children, with a quiet peace- 
' ful enjoyment of them, and victory over their 
c enemies ; all which, joined to the natural fertility 
' of the soil, proved such powerful encourage- 
' ments to agriculture, that there is scarce any 
' known people that gave themselves more en- 
' tirely and universally to it, than the Jews. 

* Accordingly, from the most opulent families of 
' the tribe of Judah, to the most indigent of that 

* of Benjamin ; from the oldest to the youngest, 
' we find them either ploughing, or sowing, or 
1 reaping ; at the threshing-floor, or feeding their 

* numerous herds." # Their whole history, and 
literature, bears abundant testimony that such 
was their state. " Behold," says their royal bard, 
" Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord, and 
" walketh in his ways. For thou shalt eat the 
" labour of thine hands ; O well is thee, and happy 
" shalt thou be. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful 

* Universal Hist. Antient, ed. 1747. vol. iii. p. 186. andnote, 



528 THE LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

" vine upon the walls of thine house ; thy children 
" like the olive-branches round about thy table. 
" The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion, and thou 
" shalt see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the 
" days of thy life. Yea, thou shalt see thy chii- 
" dren's children, and peace upon Israel." # 

" Nothing can well be supposed more interesting, 
than the consideration of the effects of the laws of 
Moses, in promoting the prosperity of the Jewish 
nation for so vast a period of time as that compre- 
hended in their history. Nothing can be more 
conclusive, as to the great argument of the im- 
puted tendency of mankind to an undue increase ; 
which this history brings to the test of experience 
more fully, and for a far longer period, than that 
of any other nation that ever existed upon earth. 
The circumstance of Mr. Malthus having rejected 
all consideration of it, — appealing, as he does, 
to most other ancient and modern nations,— ap- 
pears a most singular and doubtless a designed one ; 
for he specially alludes to the history of the Israel- 
ites during their bondage in Egypt ; exemplifying 
the prolificness of the human race by their increase 
there, which is distinctly declared to be a conse- 
quence of the miraculous interposition of God; and 
nevertheless dropping all mention of their growth 

* Psalm cxxviii. 



ON THE NATIONAL ECONOMY OF THE ISRAELITES. 529 

and its effects, when it is presented to us in 
the usual light of ordinary events. In the former 
case we have some warrant from profane writers, 
in attributing a supernatural fecundity to the Is- 
raelites ; those writers' observations indeed apply 
generally to the Egyptians, with whom it is most 
probable they were confounded, as they knew 
nothing of the Jews as distinct from the former. 
Afterwards, however, we never hear of anything 
supernatural connected with their multiplication ; 
their institutions and habits were known to con- 
tribute to that result : and, as we have before 
shown, whether taking the population of Pales- 
tine from the sacred writers, or gathering our 
information from other sources, — it was confes- 
sedly so great as to have demanded the spe- 
cial consideration of Mr. Mai thus : and above all, 
it seemed to demand of him an explanation, 
how, with their known habits and institutions — 
affording every possible facility to increase ; and 
in the absence, to a great degree, of his " checks," 
one and all,— what prevented that population, after 
it had attained to a certain height, from doubling 
according to his ratios ? 

" I meant only to have spent a very few words in 
my appeal to the greatest legislator of antiquity, and 
the effect of his institutions on that which is as- 
suredly the most ancient people now existing 

2 M 



530 THE LTFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

upon earth ; but the subject became so interesting, 
that I could not dismiss it so hastily as I in- 
tended, and now I feel that the great points on 
which I ought to have dwelt, have been very in- 
adequately handled. Enough, however, has been 
said, if we credit either sacred or profane his- 
tory, to have some considerable effect in the great 
question before us. The moral institutions of 
Moses, whom we still revere ; and those of a 
greater than Moses, of whom indeed Moses was 
but the precursor ; and whom we profess " to 
hear in all things," — both propound to us certain 
duties, (amongst which the ' preventive check ' 
has no place whatsoever,) — to the observance of 
which is annexed, the promise of a certainty and 
sufficiency of support and sustenance ; and amidst 
the promised rewards of this obedience, it is some- 
what singular that an immunity from the " posi- 
tive checks," (famine, pestilence, &c.) is unequi- 
vocally promised, — in a word, happiness is the 
reward of unreserved obedience. The effect of 
these institutions in increasing the number of 
human beings, so far from having been over- 
looked, is expressly and emphatically declared ; 
and again, instead of this anticipated increase 
being deemed adverse to, it is identified with, en- 
larging prosperity and happiness. How does Mr. 
Malthus's theory agree with this system ? Not 



ON THE NATIONAL ECONOMY OF THE ISRAELITES. 531 

at all, — it flatly contradicts it. Speaking of the 
" prudential check," — which is a virtue of his own 
creation, and in his theory of morals is the para- 
mount one ; but which, as betraying the mass of 
mankind into vice, is, under a flimsy mask, vice 
itself, — 'he fearlessly says, " An attention to this 
" obligation is of more effect in the prevention of 
" misery, than all the other virtues combined ; 
" and if in violation of this duty it were the gene- 
" ral custom to follow the first impulse of nature, 
" and marry at the age of puberty," {which the 
Jews ever did,) " the universal prevalence of every 
" known virtue, in the greatest conceivable degree, 
" would fail of rescuing society from the most 
" wretched and desperate state of want, and all 
" the diseases and famines which usually accom- 
" pany it." # I leave him to reconcile this state- 
ment with either Jewish history or Jewish law ; 
to say nothing of the spirit of Christianity : could 
he even do so, I shall shew him hereafter, that he 
would still have to reconcile it to sound philoso- 
phy and universal experience. 

" In the mean time it is a merciful and pleasing 
consideration that we have the experience of past 
times, as well as the ever-present and sufficient 
mercies of the Deity to repose upon, amidst these 

* Malthus, 4to. p. 493. 
2 M 2 



532 THE LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

threatening systems, so adverse to the best feelings 
of our nature. Seeing, as we do, a country proba- 
bly far less fertile than our own, sustaining a 
population so much more crowded, and sustain- 
ing it in plenty and happiness, and continuing 
so to sustain it for a long period of succeeding 
centuries, — let those that are incapable or in- 
disposed to look deeper into the secret causes and 
effects by which these results are accomplished, 
take courage ; let them not fear, either for them- 
selves or their posterity, — let them, as their fathers 
have done before them, " Trust in the Lord, and 
be doing good;" — " dwell in the land, for verily 
they shall be fed." 

We have given these two extracts, in order to 
shew how earnestly and enthusiastically Mr. Sad- 
ler's mind entered into this great topic, and how 
much it is to be regretted, that his purpose of a 
thorough investigation of it was frustrated. Two 
points, especially, in the Mosaic system, had im- 
pressed him with great force ; and his remarks in 
conversation, with reference to them, were often 
exceedingly striking. These were, the law restor- 
ing to every family its original possessions, at the 
opening of every fiftieth year ; # and the absolute 
prohibition of the taking interest upon money lent.f 

* Levit. xxv. 8—16. f Levit. xxv. 35—37. 



ON THE NATIONAL ECONOMY OF THE ISRAELITES. 533 

Most of our readers will probably exclaim with 
astonishment when they are told, that he regarded 
each of these regulations as most wise and benefi- 
cent ; and as calculated to promote the happiness, 
alike of that or of any other people. But had he 
lived to complete his design, he would assuredly 
have put it out of any one's power to deal lightly 
with either of these propositions. We hesitate, — 
and yet we cannot wholly decline, to offer some 
faint outlines of his views on these points. 

It will be seen at once, that both these provisos, 
— the restoration of lands at the commencement 
of each fiftieth year ; and the prohibition of all 
charge of interest for money loaned to the neces- 
sitous, — are most stringent and powerful checks 
on that which is perhaps the favourite vice or pas- 
sion of the present day, — namely, accumulation. 

This is at once admitted, but let not this view 
of the case be exaggerated. There is nothing in 
these provisos, which could tend to produce a dead 
level in society, or to destroy an aristocracy, or to 
render a rich man a rarity among us. No such 
result is likely to follow ; no such result did 
follow among the Israelites. 

In constituting his commonwealth, the Jewish 
ruler committed no violence on the universal order 
of human society. There were at all periods 
" princes," and " great men " among the children 



534 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER, 

of Israel ; and as such were they planted in the 
promised land. We observe one instance in 
the case of Caleb ; (Josh. xv. 13—19.) Another in 
the case of Joshua ; (Josh xix. 50.) Another, in 
Boaz, "a mighty man of wealth." (Ruth ii. 1.) 
Another, in Nabal, who " was very great." (1 
Sam. xxv. 2.) And again, Barzillai, " a very 
great man." (2 Sam. xix. 32.) Throughout the 
books of Moses we meet with " princes," and 
" heads of houses ;" and to such, a princely portion 
was given, in the promised land. 

The question, then, might well be asked, whe- 
ther an irreversible law of entail on the families of 
the principal as well as other possessors, might not 
rather be looked upon as an aristocratic, than a 
democratic proviso. In truth, it conceded somewhat 
to each of these opposing principles ; and worked, 
alike, in each direction. It maintained a succession, 
an hereditary line of " princes of the people," far 
more effectually than any modern system. The 
annals of European peerages will show how evan- 
escent is human greatness, amidst all the efforts 
continually used, to preserve each ancient line. 
" Where, now, is Bohun? Where is Mowbray? 
Where is Mortimer ? Or, which is more than all, 
— Where is Plantagenet ? " Of each, and all, how 
true has the saying been found, — " Man, being in 
honour, abideth not," And in what race, save that 



ON THE NATIONAL ECONOMY OF THE ISRAELITES. 5S5 

of Israel, could a man even of low station as to 
worldly wealth, trace his lineage through captivity 
and invasions, name by name, through four thou- 
sand years ? 

But while this law so maintained and preserved 
a genuine aristocracy, — for " gentility is nothing- 
else than ancient ivealth ;" — it greatly checked that 
which is contrary to the public weal, — the absorp- 
tion of the land among a few possessors. This was 
especially condemned and prohibited by the Divine 
lawgiver, in the messages of various of His prophets. 
" Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay 
field to field, till there be no place ; that they may 
be placed alone in the midst of the earth." (Isa. v. 
8.) In fact, this was obviously one great end of 
the whole enactment : — the precluding the absorp- 
tion of the lands of the weaker and less careful, by 
their avaricious and grasping neighbours. 

And a parallel object was clearly kept in view, 
in the prohibition of the receipt of interest for 
money. The principle involved was this, — that he 
who had more than he required, should freely 
impart to him who lacked. Economically consi- 
dered, however, the drift of the prohibition was to 
this effect: — The welfare of the whole community 
is best consulted, when all, — the whole of its popu- 
lation, — are actively engaged in production. But 
to admit the practice of usury, (or interest,) is to 



536 LIFE OP MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

release one person in each transaction, from the 
necessity of labour ; and to compel another, the 
borrower, to labour for both. A class of usurers 
or takers of interest, must be a class of drones or 
non-producers. This class is, in itself, an injury 
or dead weight to the community ; and the mis- 
chief so inflicted, must extend with the numerical 
extension of the class. 

There is nothing in this theory which does not en- 
tirely commend itself to every man's understanding, 
when properly understood : but it will not be easy 
for us, in this brief mention of the subject, to 
bring it fairly before the reader's mind. The 
events, however, of the last seven years, may 
aid us in approximating somewhat towards a just 
conclusion. 

The laws of Moses altogether prohibited the 
employment of " Capital " in such a manner, as 
that the possessors of it, without the least trouble 
or exertion, might be enabled to subsist in indo- 
lence, probably even in luxury, upon the labours 
of others. 

The possessors and the worshippers of " Capi- 
tal," on the other hand, now argue, that its 
holders should be left at perfect liberty ; not only 
to exact what is called by Moses " usury or 
increase;" but also to do this to any extent that 
might be in their power; to levy, in short, as 



ON THE NATIONAL ECONOMY OF THE ISRAELITES. 537 

heavy an imposition upon the necessitous, as they 
possibly could obtain. 

The laws of England, until within the last ten 
years, adopted a middle course : permitting inte- 
rest to be taken, but limiting it in extent. Five 
per cent was made the legal bound or maximum ; 
beyond which no obedient subject was to carry his 
exactions. It is obvious that the same principle 
which justified this limitation, would equally have 
justified the confining the rate to three per cent, 
or even to two. The exact point at which the 
line shall be drawn, is a mere matter of detail, not 
affecting the justice of the enactment in any way. 

Within the last few years, however, this proviso 
has been given up, and " Capital " has been 
allowed the freest scope, to assert its own value 
and potency in any manner its owners pleased. 
Has this experiment answered ? Has the change 
been a beneficial one for the country at large ? 

Most assuredly not. The general voice of the 
industrious classes may distinctly be heard ; com- 
plaining that the repeal of the old limitation has 
established a tyranny of Capital, and a thraldom 
of industry. And does not this result of the ex- 
periment afford ground for a strong impression, 
that as a still further departure than had before 
existed, from the Mosaic law, has so clearly pro- 
duced great evils, it is probable that a return to 



£38 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

the scriptural principle ; an adoption of, or at 
least an approximation to the Jewish system, might 
lead to the opposite benefits ? 

The whole policy of the Jewish lawgiver 
plainly tended to the widest possible diffusion of 
plenty and happiness, and to the counteraction, 
as far as possible, of the vicious exercise, to 
excess, of the passion of accumulation. And can 
any one, however aristocratic may be his lean- 
ings, who is sincerely desirous of the happiness of 
his fellow-creatures, refuse his cordial approbation 
to such a system ? 

It is abundantly clear, that the condition of the 
serfs of a Polish or Russian estate, whereon some 
two or three thousand labourers toil severely, and 
live worse than the beasts of the field, is not a 
prosperous one for the mass : whatever it may be 
for the diamond-vested prince, who revels in 
luxury at Paris, Vienna, or London, on the pro- 
duce of their toil. 

Equally certain is it, that the predicament of 
the slaves on a West Indian estate in 1830 or 
1831, was vastly inferior to their state in 1840 or 
1841, — although the income of the planter, living 
in Portland Place or Grosvenor Square, may have 
been larger at the former period. 

The question is, whether we admit the princi- 
ple, that the greatest good of the greatest number, 



ON THE NATIONAL ECONOMY OF THE ISRAELITES. 539 

is a legitimate object of pursuit? If we do, then 
the state of society in Poland or Russia will 
appear to us to need alteration ; the change 
effected in Jamaica will appear a blessed one ; 
and we shall be prepared to value and appreciate 
the laws of the Israelites, which precluded the 
rise of any such creatures as the Russian prince 
or West-Indian-planter among them. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

CLOSE OF HIS LIFE — PERSONAL CHARACTER. 

Having now, in such sort as we might, essayed 
to sketch a rough and hasty outline of the labours 
and opinions of Michael Thomas Sadler, it only 
remains to narrate the closing scenes of his life ; 
and then to endeavour to furnish a connected view 
of what may be justly termed " his System." 

We have already remarked, that having, in May 
1834, paid a visit to a relative at Belfast, with 
which place he was also connected by his interest 
in the extensive linen-works carried on by his 
firm, — he was so much pleased with the town 
and its neighbourhood, as to determine to fix his 
future residence there. He first took a house at 
the pleasant watering-place of Hollywood, distant 
about four miles from Belfast ; from whence he 
removed in the winter to his relative's abode, in 



CLOSE OF HIS LIFE. 541 

College Square, Belfast; and in March 1835, 
fixed his abode at " the New Lodge," a pleasant 
residence about a mile from the town ; where, in 
a few short months, his earthly existence came to 
its close. 

Allusion has already been made, in an early 
chapter of this work, to a most distressing and 
alarming malady, which shewed itself, first in 
1814, and in a slighter degree, at various other 
periods of his life ; — the symptoms of which were, 
a great irregularity of pulse, pain about the region 
of the heart, and distressing palpitations. 

The writer of these lines well remembers a 
fearful attack of this kind, which suddenly inter- 
rupted a journey taken by Mr. Sadler and him- 
self, in December, 1831, into an agricultural dis- 
trict, which was considered likely to furnish some 
striking illustrations of the defects of the existing 
management of the poor. Without any previous 
indisposition, in the midst of an interesting but 
quiet conversation in a post-chaise, so sudden and 
violent a paroxysm came on, as to excite the 
greatest alarm even for the sufferer's life. 

Mr. Sadler of course did not contemplate, when 
he involved himself in the trouble and expence 
of a removal from Yorkshire to Ireland, — the pro- 
bability that his own tenure of any earthly dwelling 
would prove so extremely short. But a sudden 



542 THE LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

exertion, drawn forth by one of those circum- 
stances which men call " accidental/' — in the 
course of this removal, brought on so violent and 
lengthened an attack of his complaint, as to make 
it clear that his own enjoyment of his new abode 
for any lengthened period must be regarded as at 
least very doubtful. 

During the whole of the summer of 1834, which 
was spent at Hollywood, the disease hung about 
him ; but no considerable alarm was yet excited, 
either in his own mind or those of his friends. Still 
an irregularity of pulse, with frequent difficulty of 
breathing, was generally perceptible ; and his state 
of health became matter of just anxiety. 

Unquestionably the thing most needed, was, 
regularity of habits, and calmness of mind. The 
disease had been greatly augmented by his par- 
liamentary labours, which frequently kept him 
almost without food, and to a great degree with- 
out sleep, for days together. His last year's 
labour, on the Factory question, was sufficient to 
shorten any man's life by three years ; and it pro- 
bably shortened his by ten. Still, however, though 
conscious of his indisposition, he could not be 
induced to give up his habits of close study, in- 
sufficient exercise, and hasty and irregular meals. 
And while in this doubtful state, the dissolution 
of Parliament, in December 1834, came suddenly 



CLOSE OF HIS LIFE. 543 

upon him, bringing him the most pressing en- 
treaties from various places, especially from Bir- 
mingham and South Durham ; for the latter of 
which places his return was represented to be 
all but certain. To a mind like his, earnestly- 
devoted to a great public object, such applications 
could not but be deeply agitating. Feeling his 
own bodily weakness on the one hand, he yet 
felt a great desire, on the other, to lift up again, 
if possible, his voice in Parliament, in defence of 
the rights of the poor. The conflict was most in- 
jurious to him. He felt it his duty finally to 
decide upon remaining in private life ; but the 
mental struggle visibly added to his rapidly- 
advancing indisposition. 

This circumstance, coupled with his constant 
application to study, and neglect of exercise, soon 
brought on an entire derangement of the digestive 
organs ; which naturally operated to the increase 
of the former alarming symptoms, and a drop- 
sical swelling of the extremities began to shew 
itself. He was now settled at the New Lodge ; 
but the difficulty of breathing had so increased, 
as to render the exertion of going up stairs 
painful ; and for the remaining weeks of his life 
his sleep was taken in an apartment on the 
ground-floor. 

A sudden attack of inflammation of the heart 



544 THE LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

shortly after came on ; and, although it quickly 
yielded to the usual remedies, it left him so much 
reduced in strength, and so little able to bear up 
against his previous and still-remaining ailments, 
that a settled persuasion now began to take pos- 
session of his mind, that the end of his life drew 
near. Nor could any temporary relief, which 
again and again was afforded, remove this convic- 
tion from his mind. 

We now see Mr. Sadler, then, in those circum- 
stances which nearly all men expect and calculate 
upon being placed in at some time or other ; but 
which, in point of fact, come upon very few. 
Almost every man looks forward to a period when 
he shall feel and know that death is near, and shall 
be able to make up his " dread account," before the 
hour for giving it in arrives. But how few, how very 
few, do ever, in point of fact, realize such a position ! 
How preponderating the proportion of those who 
are taken off by sudden death, or in delirium, or 
who are deluded into the belief, even up to the 
last moment, that they are about to recover, and 
not to die. Mr. Sadler, however, was one of the 
very few, who, long before his death, felt a firm 
conviction, that he " should die, and not live ; " 
and whose mind was so unclouded, up to the last, 
as to enable him rightly to examine into both the 
end before him, and his own preparation for it. 



CLOSE OF HIS LIFE. 545 

We have already seen, that from his very boy- 
hood he had been made acquainted with the great 
realities of religion ; and there is abundant evi- 
dence that 3 at various periods of his life, he deeply 
felt their truth and importance. 

Many of his private diaries, during his residence 
at Leeds, in the middle portion of his life, have 
come under our notice, and a very large propor- 
tion of their pages is occupied with reflections and 
remarks on religious topics, which were evidently 
meant for no eye but his own. 

It is not, however, to be denied, that the vehe- 
mence of his disposition, during the few years of 
his public life, and the earnest sincerity with 
which his whole soul was thrown into the philan- 
thropic plans he had formed, led him to pursue his 
various objects in parliament with so great an ab- 
sorption of mind, as to leave too little room, during 
this period, for quiet reflection or occupation on 
still higher topics. 

But the solemn pause now graciously accorded 
to him, previously to his departure, did not find 
him, like many others, either uninformed or un- 
convinced, as to the all-important truths of Chris- 
tianity. All that he needed was their faithful 
application to his own case ; and in this, "the 
patient ministered to himself," with no deceptive 
or reluctant hand. 

2 N 



546 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

The last few months of his life were spent in a 
self-examination and repentance the most deep, 
self-abasing, and fervent. An excellent clergyman 
who constantly visited him, often exclaimed, that 
" he went to learn, not to teach." 

Doubtless there will be many, among those 
into whose hands this volume may fall, who will 
ask, with unfeigned surprise, what there was to call 
for such penitential grief and self-condemnation, 
in the case of one whose life, to human view, had 
been spotless ; and whose chief object and pursuit, 
almost to a fault, had been, the improvement of 
the condition of his fellow-creatures ? But we have 
already described Mr. Sadler as one who sought 
after truth, with a laborious and honest endeavour. 
Such an one could hardly remain under the influ- 
ence of the baseless and irrational notions by which, 
it is to be feared, great numbers of men delude 
themselves. 

He could not, for instance, like many others, 
rest on a vague and indefinite idea of " the mercy 
of God ;" and yet neglect the study of that Revela- 
tion which God has himself given to man, for the 
express purpose of informing him in what way 
the Divine mercy is bestowed. 

Nor could he, with the word of God in his 
hand, still continue, like multitudes, to disbe- 
lieve the positive declarations therein contained, 



CLOSE OF HIS LIFE. 547 

— that a state of fearful wretchedness awaits, in 
the next life, those who have not laid hold upon 
God's mercy, in His own appointed way, in this. 

Neither was he likely, with this mirror of truth 
before him, to adopt another false hope, too fre- 
quently relied upon, by those who are but half-awak- 
ened to their real state; — namely, that against some 
indefinite amount of sins, which they will admit 
that they have committed,— God will place their 
good deeds and charitable actions; and that, 
finally, the atoning sacrifice of the Great Mediator 
will suffice to balance the account. 

His mind, as we have already said, had been 
too accurately informed, from youth, to permit 
him to take shelter in any of these " refuges of 
lies." He knew the language of the Church of 
England, which he had been in the habit of using, 
to be strictly true : — That he " had from time to 
" time committed manifold sins and wickedness ; 
" provoking most justly God's wrath against 
" him :"* — while even his best works, " could not 
" put away his sins, or endure the severity of God's 
" judgment."! Thus " the remembrance of his 
" sins became grievous to him; and the burden of 
" them intolerable ; " J and it was only by being 
enabled to appropriate to himself, by faith, 

* Communion Service, 
f Art. xii. X Communion Service. 

2 N 2 



548 LTFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

the meritorious efficacy of " the full, perfect, and 
sufficient sacrifice," made upon the Cross, that 
he finally " found rest for his soul." 

His sole occupation during all this period, was 
of a character suited to his circumstances. The 
Scriptures were seldom out of his hand ; his con- 
versation was filled with the one topic ; and ear- 
nest and vehement prayer absorbed him day and 
night. That his petitions were indeed heard and 
answered, became apparent to his afflicted rela- 
tives, by several unequivocal signs. Among these 
we may specify, — 

1 . A perfect calmness, and indifference to things 
which had for many years past almost monopolized 
his thoughts. As one instance of this may be men- 
tioned, a fresh and very earnest application for 
permission to use his name as a candidate for a 
large borough in a midland county of England. 
The application was not only declined on the 
instant, — which, indeed, was a matter of course ; 
but it was put aside without a single sigh, or so 
much as a quickening of the pulse. 

2. Having always been of an impetuous and 
irritable temperament, the silent endurance of pain 
had never been a feature in his character in former 
years. Now, however, although ease wholly for- 
sook him, and his sufferings were constant and 
unremitting, his patient endurance was quite re- 



CLOSE OF HIS LIFE. 549 

markable, and his mind seemed swallowed up by 
a feeling, that all his pains were infinitely less 
than his deservings ; and by an intense desire 
to realize that interest in the greater and truly 
availing sufferings of the Saviour, which might 
enable him to exclaim, with the apostle's exulting 
confidence, " Our light affliction, which is but for 
a moment, worketh out for us a far more exceed- 
ing and eternal weight of glory." 

3. Another most evident and remarkable 
change took place in him. When in health, the 
confidence he felt in the truth of his own princi- 
ples, and the vehemence with which he main- 
tained them, constantly led him to speak of his 
opponents, especially of those who had written 
" against the poor," in terms of unsparing seve- 
rity. It was not any personal feeling which 
prompted this ; he merely adopted too dogmati- 
cally, the language applied in holy writ, to the 
oppressors of the poor and the needy. But now a 
total change took place in this respect. The 
greatest meekness and gentleness displayed itself, 
whenever opposing controversialists were alluded 
to ; and he was quite as ready to find an exculpa- 
tory plea or charitable supposition, as he had for- 
merly been to hurl anathemas at " the enemies 
of the poor." 

By these and other equally significant tokens, 



550 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

evidence was abundantly given, of a real and rapid- 
ly-progressive work of Divine grace in the heart. 

In the month of July (1835,) a sudden rally took 
place, and he appeared for a time decidedly better ; 
his worst symptoms abated ; he was able to sit up 
during part of the day ; and for a moment the hopes 
of his friends revived. But this pleasing prospect 
disappeared as suddenly as it had sprung up ; a 
relapse came on, aggravated by the additional 
symptom of constant and violent sickness, which 
quickly reduced him to the lowest state of ex- 
haustion. Two days of this suffering, Friday and 
Saturday, July 24 and 25, brought him evidently 
to the last extremity. On Sunday and Monday he 
remained nearly speechless. On the Tuesday 
morning he himself, and his friends, alike prepared 
for a close which all hourly expected. Whenever 
not dozing, he was engaged in earnest prayer. 
Towards evening he appeared gradually sinking 
away ; but about three o'clock on the Wednesday 
morning, he a little revived, and recovered sen- 
sation and speech. One of his watching friends 
earnestly asked, " If he felt the presence of God, 
supporting him in this hour of need ?" He instantly 
replied, " I know that my Redeemer liveth ; and 
" that though in my flesh worms destroy this body, 
" yet with mine eyes shall I behold him ; whom I 
" shall see for myself and not another, though my 



CLOSE OF HIS LIFE. 551 

" reins be consumed within me." His friend re- 
plied, by quoting the promise, " Thou wilt keep 
" him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed 
" on Thee ; because he trusteth in Thee." He 
gratefully acknowledged the faithfulness of God, 
adding, " Though I walk through the valley of 
" the shadow of death, I will fear no evil ; for 
" Thou art with me, and Thy rod and thy staff, 
" they comfort me." 

He then, in a few broken sentences, most touch- 
ingly expressed his sense of his own utter unwor- 
thiness, and his entire dependence on the atoning 
sacrifice of the great Propitiator ; adding a verse of 
a favourite hymn ; 

"Take my poor heart, and let it be 
" For ever closed to all but Thee; 
" Seal Thou my breast, and let me wear 
" That pledge of love for ever there." 

These were almost the last syllables he uttered ; 
for he shortly afterwards sunk into a doze, and 
gradually passed away ; expiring about six o'clock 
on the morning of the 29th of July, being then in 
the 56th year of his age. 

"On Tuesday, August 4, the remains of this ines- 
timable man were interred in Ballylesson church- 
yard. The gentry, and an immense number of 



552 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

the respectable inhabitants of Belfast and the sur- 
rounding country, evinced their respect for his 
memory, by accompanying him to the grave. 
After the service, a most impressive sermon was 
preached by the Rev. Thomas Drew. 



" * 



On the 13th of August a public meeting was 
held in Leeds, Henry Hall, Esq. (the senior 
alderman,) in the chair, for the purpose of adopt- 
ing such measures as might be thought appro- 
priate, to express the respect and attachment 
felt for his memory, by his former fellow-towns- 
men and friends. At this meeting, after agreeing 
to several Resolutions of condolence and regret, 
a subscription was set on foot, to which the 
Duke of Newcastle, the Earl of Lonsdale, Lord 
Feversham, the Hon. W. Duncombe, and Mr. 
Fountayne Wilson became contributors, and which 
speedily amounted to about £ 700, for the erection 
of a statue of Mr. Sadler in the parish church of 
Leeds. The work was committed to the care of 
Mr. Park ; and it now stands at the entrance of 
the splendid new church lately raised in that 
town ; bearing the following inscription : 

* Belfast Guardian, Aug, 8, 1835. 



55S 



MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER, F.R.S. 

BORN AT DOVERIDGE, IN THE COUNTY OF DERBY, 
FROM EARLY YOUTH AN INHABITANT OF THIS TOWN ; 

ENDOWED WITH GREAT NATURAL TALENTS, 

A FERVID IMAGINATION, A FEELING HEART, AND AN INQUIRING MIND : 

HE CULTIVATED WITH SUCCESS AMID THE DISTRACTIONS OF 

TRADE, 

THE ELEGANCIES OF POLITE LITERATURE, 

AND THE SEVERER STUDY OF POLITICAL AND SOCIAL ECONOMY, 

AS EXHIBITED IN HIS WORKS ON IRELAND AND ON THE 

LAW OF POPULATION. 

THE DISPLAY, ON VARIOUS OCCASIONS, 

OF A COPIOUS ELOQUENCE PECULIARLY HIS OWN, 

IN DEFENCE OF THE PROTESTANT FAITH, 

OF THE RIGHTS OF HUMANITY, AND OF THE BRITISH CONSTITUTION, 

SECURED HIM, UNSOUGHT FOR, A SEAT IN THE 

HOUSE OF COMMONS ; 

AND HE REPRESENTED THE BOROUGHS OF NEWARK 

AND ALDBOROUGH IN THREE SUCCESSIVE PARLIAMENTS : 

HE DISTINGUISHED HIMSELF IN THE SENATE 

AS THE BOLD DEFENDER OF THE INSTITUTIONS OF HIS COUNTRY, 

AND BY STRENUOUSLY ADVOCATING MEASURES TO 

SECURE A LEGAL PROVISION FOR THE 

POOR OF IRELAND, 

AND THE AMELIORATION OF THE CONDITION OF 

FACTORY CHILDREN. 

HE DIED AT BELFAST, JULY 29, 1835, 

AGED 55 YEARS. 

HIS REMAINS REST IN BALLYLESSON CHURCH-YARD. 

BY HIS NUMEROUS PRIVATE AND POLITICAL FRIENDS 

THIS MONUMENT HAS BEEN ERECTED, 

TO HAND DOWN TO POSTERITY THE NAME OF 

A SCHOLAR, A PATRIOT, AND A PRACTICAL PHILANTHROPIST. 



554* LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

Having thus brought our narrative to a close, it 
will naturally be expected that we should attempt 
a brief sketch of the leading points in Mr. Sad- 
ler's character. In discharging this part of our 
duty, we shall confine ourselves, in this place, to 
what may be considered his personal character ; re- 
serving for a concluding chapter, the consideration 
of his System, — those leading principles of na- 
tional economy, which it was the great object of 
his life to inculcate. 

Turning, then, to the recollection of Mr. Sadler 
as a man, apart from the great truths of which he 
was the unwearied advocate, we shall first advert, — 
desiring to speak the whole truth, — to the blemishes 
and defects, which, in the course of a friendship 
and personal intercourse of nearly ten years, pre- 
sented themselves to our notice. To slur over this 
part of the subject, would neither consist with our 
sense of propriety and truth, nor with our views of 
sound policy. We know of no other safe way of 
handling any subject, than that of frankly ad- 
mitting and setting down all the facts of the case. 

Nor need we fear, in the present instance, to 
make the fullest and most explicit admissions. Had 
we not valued and revered the character of Mr. 
Sadler as an honest and upright and earnest man, 
as well as a profound and intelligent one, this 
Memoir would never have been commenced. But, 



PERSONAL CHARACTER. 555 

entertaining that conviction in the fullest degree, 
why should we hesitate to state in the plainest 
language, the few points which we could have 
sometimes wished to have been otherwise ? We 
are not professing to paint " a faultless monster 
whom the world ne'er saw ; " but a genuine, and 
necessarily imperfect specimen of humanity. 

The main drawback to his acceptability and 
usefulness, then, was one which arose out of the 
circumstances in which he had been placed for the 
first five-and-forty years of his life. It was well 
indicated by one of the most accurate observers in 
the old House of Commons, Sir James Mackintosh. 
In the spring of 1829, when the eclat of Mr. 
Sadler's first appearance in that assembly brought 
his name and pretensions into daily discussion in 
every society, Mr. Zachary Macaulay, happening 
to meet this veteran critic and orator, immediately 
put the question, " This Mr. Sadler, whom all 
" men are talking about, what sort of a man is 
" he, Sir James ? — What is your opinion of him ? 
" Why," replied Sir James, " there is no doubt 
" that he is a great man ; but he appears to me 
" to have been used to a favourable auditory." 

Sir James had here, with an intuitive saga- 
city, both hinted at the defects in Mr. Sadler's 
mode of address, and had suggested most truly 
their real cause and origin. Unlike such men as 



556 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

Canning, and Brougham, and Peel, who were 
brought, as youths, upon the noblest arena in the 
world, and forced to train themselves, cautiously, 
and step by step, in the presence of the Nestors 
of the senate, until all exuberances were pruned 
away, all weaknesses remedied, and a style formed 
by practice, exactly suited to the place and the 
auditory ; unlike, we repeat, these happier com- 
petitors, Mr. Sadler dwelt and moved, until 
mature age, amidst the society of men who were, 
almost universally, his inferiors both in mental 
powers and acquirements. It was impossible that 
this circumstance should fail to produce an inju- 
rious effect. He became accustomed, as a matter 
of right, and of course, to declaim, to lecture, 
to expatiate. On every side he grew accustomed 
to meet the gaze of admiring and delighted audi- 
tors ; but scarcely ever had he the advantage of 
grappling with an equal. It cannot be necessary 
to dilate on this point ; or to explain or prove, 
what every man of discernment will see at a 
glance, that an education and training of this kind 
was a most unfavourable and disadvantageous pre- 
paration for such an arena as the House of Com- 
mons. But our remark is not limited to that 
place ; it extends to the whole circle of Mr. Sad- 
ler's public life. He was not conceited, nor dicta- 
torial ; but he was often declamatory, and fre- 



PERSONAL CHARACTER. 557 

quently prolix ; not indeed with the dull prolixity 
of mere verbiage, but with the redundance of a full 
and almost overcharged mind, pouring itself forth 
without dread of causing weariness or offence. 

A second source of weakness was one of very un- 
usual occurrence. It was, the singular transparency 
of his character. So guileless was he, — so fearless 
in his honesty of purpose, that he was constantly 
in the habit of " thinking aloud ; " and many 
were the difficulties and dilemmas in which this 
practice involved him. One well-known attack of 
a disappointed aspirant, who revenged himself 
for a fancied slight, by sending divers libels to 
the newspapers, was based almost wholly upon 
the advantage afforded him by this singular prac- 
tice. The man who said that " Language was 
" given us for the purpose of concealing our 
" thoughts," was just at the very antipodes (in 
morals,) to Mr. Sadler. All who were familiar 
with him would attest, that the concealment of 
his thoughts " would have been impossible had 
" it been attempted ; and would have been foolish, 
" had it been possible." He lived in London, 
among the wily diplomatists, the scheming parti- 
zans, and the brilliant but insincere devotees of 
fashion, — himself the greatest contrast to them all ; 
a simple-hearted, earnest, and uncompromising 
enthusiast. We have called this a drawback, and 



558 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

so, in one sense, it proved. The sagacious policy 
which is indicated by the saying, " If I had both 
• • my hands full of truths, I would open but one 
" finger at a time/' would more effectually have 
served his high and noble ends. But it was not 
in his nature ; to have attempted it, would, as we 
have just said, have been " foolish "; still the ab- 
sence of it was a weakness and an imperfection. 

But now, having honestly noticed these two 
points, in which his friends often longed for a 
change, we come to the more important and lead- 
ing features of his character. And here, to speak 
the truth in the simplest and plainest language, 
is to furnish his best eulogy. 

The leading characteristic of his mind, — that 
which was always, and on all occasions, apparent, 
- — was that of a seeker after truth. 

Much intercourse with him, continued through 
several years ; marked by the greatest confidence ; 
and including within its range almost every con- 
ceivable topic, — enables us to testify, that what- 
ever might be the subject in hand, however in- 
volving party connections, or political or religious 
prejudices; — never could even a suspicion enter, 
that Mr. Sadler was opposing or evading what he 
knew to be the truth ; or that he followed any 
other pole-star than that of sincere conviction. 
Frequent differences of opinion might and did 



PERSONAL CHARACTER. 559 

arise ; and long and warm might the contention 
grow ; but never could it be for an instant doubted, 
that what he was maintaining so strenuously, he 
believed most firmly. 

But he was more than this ; he not only sought 
after truth, — but he sought after it most perse- 
veringly and most laboriously. 

There are many men who mean honestly ; but 
do not feel a sufficient interest in finding out the 
truth, to toil and weary themselves much in its dis- 
covery. But Mr. Sadler's whole life was a life of 
labour, — not for wealth, or aggrandisement, or 
party triumph, — but for the discovery and vin- 
dication of truth. Nor was it the mere delight of 
a controversalist, in maintaining the theory which 
he happens to have espoused ; — the prevalent mo- 
tive which urged Mr. Sadler forward, through toil- 
some days and sleepless nights, was a deep con- 
viction that the truths he desired to assert, were 
truths essentially connected with the welfare of 
his fellow-countrymen. The amelioration of their 
condition was the object at which he aimed ; and 
the accomplishment of this object, in any degree, 
would have been considered by him a full and 
ample reward. 

The unvarying, unyielding devotion of his whole 
soul to these labours, formed another remarkable 
feature in his character. What multitudes of 



560 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

public men do we behold, who take up a matter 
of national concern for a time ; and labour as if 
their hearts were really engaged in the cause ; — 
but, return to the field at the end of some two or 
three years ; and enquire for those who seemed 
so earnest in the people's interest; and where will 
they be found ? Some, wearied and cast down 
by the toilsome character and apparent hopeless- 
ness of the undertaking ; others, carried away by 
some new fancy ; and a few, submitting to the 
welcome fetters of official bondage. Only now 
and then, — only once or twice in a century, — do 
we meet with men, who, like Wilberforce and Sad- 
ler, take up a question from heartfelt conviction, 
and adhere to it, through evil report and good 
report, while life or hope or even possibility of 
success remains. 

The main secret of this untiring and devoted 
perseverance, is, a real and solid disinterestedness. 
These men have taken up the cause, not as a means 
of distinguishing or elevating themselves ; nor 
merely as an occupation for leisure hours ; but 
from a deep conviction of its real importance — of 
its higher importance than party interests, or their 
own personal advantage, Hence, if temptations 
are thrown in their way, the natural reply is, 
"You can offer nothing that will bear any compari- 
son, in my view, with the business which I have in 



PERSONAL CHARACTER. 561 

hand." * In Mr. Sadler's case this disregard of 
party and personal considerations was pre-emi- 
nently conspicuous. Before he had been two 
full years in Parliament, the greatest controversy 
of modern times sprang up. The question of the 
Reform Bill was, in fact, the question of a New 
Coiistitution. Now, there were not five men in 
the House of Commons who were Mr. Sadler's 
equals, in a large and accurate acquaintance with 
this whole question. He was also, at all times, 
a ready and powerful speaker. To have taken a 
conspicuous part in this mighty struggle would 
have been to ensure himself a foremost place 
in a Conservative government, whenever his party 
might be recalled to office. Why, then, was 
it, that Mr. Sadler, after the first encounter, did 
far less than might have been expected of him, in 
this momentous controversy ? It was because he 
had already entered upon the business in which 
his heart felt the deepest interest — the advo- 
cacy of the rights of the poor; and, from this 
great object, neither party sympathies nor the 
prospects of ambition could prevail to lure him 
away. He left the mere party-men to contend for 

* The reader's mind will naturally revert to a recent instance 
of this rare virtue, displayed by Mr. Sadler's noble successor, — 
nolle, indeed, in every sense, — in the advocacy of the cause of 
the poor factory- children. 

2 O 



562 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

their nomination-boroughs; while he gave his 
days and nights to a desperate struggle in behalf 
of the poor little factory-slaves. 

Nor was he at all ignorant or indifferent to the 
sacrifices he was thus making. He knew that 
by adopting this course, he was injuring all his 
prospects as a politician. He was well aware that 
the subjects on which he loved to dwell, were tire- 
some to the " honourable house;" that he himself 
would be voted "a bore," and his influence in 
that assembly all but destroyed. He saw, also, 
that the leaders of his own party disliked being 
forced to vote on such questions ; " committing 
themselves," if they voted in the affirmative ; and 
incurring unpopularity if they voted otherwise. 
Even his own expectations of a seat in the new 
Parliament were almost destroyed by the very line 
he took; arousing, as it did, the enmity of the 
mill-owners — the most powerful class among the 
new constituencies. All these obvious dangers he 
braved, simply because he was thoroughly in 
earnest ; and had made his choice, deliberately, 
either to remain a public man with the power of 
doing good ; or not to remain a public man at all. 

The truth was, that his heart was in the task 
to which he had devoted himself. It was, with 
him, no pet theory merely ; but a grand, absorbing 
object, How truly devoted he was to it ; how 



PERSONAL CHARACTER. o63 

absolutely enthusiastic ; how deeply in earnest; 
only those could tell who were in the habit of 
associating with him in his more retired hours. It 
was then that his whole soul was poured forth 
without reserve; and he would dilate upon wrongs 
that he had seen inflicted, and sorrows which he 
had tried to assuage ; till, often, utterance was 
stopped by emotion, and fears for the nar- 
rator overpowered the interest felt in the nar- 
ration itself. 

To compare such a man with the speculating 
statesmen of modern times, — the Sheridans, the 
Plunketts, the Cannings, would be simply absurd. 
He had no more resemblance to them than a 
loyal patriot leader bears to a " soldier of for* 
tune ;"— a Collingwood, for instance, to a Bona- 
parte. In mere talent — the machinery only, the 
" steam-power " of the character, — he might be 
exceeded by some of this class ; but in moral 
worth and intrinsic value, the inspiring genius of 
the whole, he rises to a far higher sphere. 

It is to be feared that the time has hardly yet 
arrived, for the full and just appreciation of such a 
character. There is still too much, among us, of 
the idolatry of mere talent, and of admiration called 
forth by success, without regard to the means em- 
ployed, or the personal worth of the successful 
gladiator. Higher and sounder principles, which. 

2 2 



56A< LIFE OP MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

it may be hoped, are quietly growing and extend- 
ing themselves, will wean us from this childish 
fondness for glittering tinsel, this vulgar delight in 
dragging the car of whomsoever may happen to be 
victor. Is it not humiliating to witness earnest 
and sincere men, often assisting to raise to the pin- 
nacle of fame and power, one who, in private con- 
verse, they freely admit to be nothing more than 
a selfish and ambitious schemer, advocating, per- 
haps, for the moment, their views, because such a 
course tends to his own advancement? Yet how 
often, within the last forty years, has this been a 
matter of notorious occurrence ! How often have 
public leaders been vehemently and pertinaciously 
supported, who possessed not the respect or confi- 
dence of one in twenty of their professed followers. 
A most revolting instance of this, is, at the present 
moment, passing before the public eye. The 
very latest number of the leading Whig journal, 
deliberately adopts the following language : — 

" While the present policy of the government 
is dictated by motives so childish, it is in vain for 
them to devise schemes of permanent operation 
and utility (for Ireland). All will be frustrated by 
the opposition of the one person who now, and 
most naturally, wields alone the entire confidence 
of the people who he has elevated into a nation. 
And we shall think such plans as the one now 



PERSONAL CHARACTER. 565 

before us worthy of serious support, when we find 
the proposal of them preceded by the conciliation 
of the only man who can give them a chance of 
being carried into effect."* 

It is impossible to help suspecting that advice 
like this is only tendered in the Satanic view, of 
tempting your opponent to that which you know 
would prove his sure destruction. The two main 
causes of the recent downfal of the Whigs, un- 
doubtedly were — theirrefusal to do anything for the 
great mass of the people; and their base and despi- 
cable pandering to O'Connell. And their present 
policy — the motive for which is obvious enough,— 
seems to be, to encourage and persuade, as much 
as possible, the Conservative government to follow 
in their footsteps — by maintaining the New Poor 
Law — by refusing protection to the infant-labour- 
ers in our factories, — and above all, by cringing 
to the universally despised and abhorred Irish 
mendicant. 

The manoeuvre is perhaps too gross ; and any 
set of men, calling themselves statesmen, who 
could be entrapped by it, would fall, not only 
right speedily, but without a single voice to regret 
their overthrow. We do trust, however, that the 
progress of religion, and of a higher tone of 

* Edinburgh Review, Jan. 1842, p. 496. 



566 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

morals among us, will gradually elevate the cur- 
rent sentiment of society in these matters. And, 
whenever the time arrives, of the prevalence of a 
thoroughly correct and healthy mode of estimat- 
ing character ; not by mere talent or power, but 
by moral principle and elevation of purpose, — - 
then will the names of such men as Mr. Sadler 
receive that degree of honour which justly belongs 
to so rare a union of both. 

Thus much of the distinguishing features of his 
character. Of the rest, it may suffice to say, that 
he was an amiable and accomplished man ; ex- 
emplary in every relation in life ; beloved as much 
as he was admired. Both as a poet * and as a 
musician, he held a high rank. He was a fascina- 
ting as well as an improving companion ; possess- 
ing a great variety of attainments, in languages, 
science, and the arts ; without the alloy of either 
pedantry or conceit. But these are commenda- 
tions which, happily, may be bestowed on many 
men, who are still not gifted with the higher and 
nobler attributes which distinguished the charac- 
ter of Michael Thomas Sadler. 

* For some specimens of his Version of the Psalms, see 
Appendix (F.) 



CHAPTER XVIL 

SUMMARY OF MR. SADLER'S SYSTEM. 

The history of the Life of Michael Thomas 
Sadler has been, of necessity, the history of his 
opinions ; in fact, it was chiefly to assert and main- 
tain his system, that this Memoir was undertaken. 
It would be wrong, however, to confound him 
with the swarm of theorizers of the present day ; 
who frame schemes of political economy for lack 
of other occupation, and would fain, if they were 
able, play at chess with mankind. There never was 
a simpler, more earnest, or more strictly practical 
mind, than that of Mr. Sadler. The idea of build- 
ing up a system never entered his head. His plans 
were suggested, one after the other, by the errors 
and necessities which he saw around him ; and 
thus, gradually, matured by years, and confirmed 
by experience, the whole results of a life spent in 



56S LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

patient investigation and earnest reflection, mould- 
ed and formed themselves into something of a 
systematic form. 

His first steps, in early life, were taken in the 
safest of all paths, reverence for, and implicit belief 
in, God's word ; and pity for the poor. Proceed- 
ing in this course, observing and comparing all he 
saw around him, he soon began to be penetrated 
with concern at the workings of cupidity and sel- 
fishness on every side ; in some cases visible in 
the neglect, in others in the oppression of the 
poor : but most especially did he abhor that reign- 
ing theory of the day, which inculcated hardness 
of heart upon principle, nay, as a positive duty. 

Constant thought and laborious researches into 
the question, soon fixed in his mind a firm and 
rooted attachment to the old English system of 
care for the poor ; and a thorough detestation of 
the modern opposers and contemners of that sys- 
tem, — the Malthuses, Martineaus, Marcets, et hoc 
genus omne. But he was too wise and too honest 
a man to condemn any theory from mere impulse 
or antipathy : hence his well-grounded aversion, 
(well-grounded because originating in the Divine 
word,) led him into a deep and earnest investiga- 
tion of all those assumed facts, upon which the 
Malthusian theory claimed to be founded. 

1 , One by one, with ceaseless toil, but indomi- 



SUMMARY OF MR. SADLER'S SYSTEM. 569 

table perseverance, he tracked each fallacy or fabri- 
cation to its source, and finally left no one princi- 
pal or important fact in all Mr. Malthus's statements 
undemolished. He shewed that the grand fallacy 
of the whole, (the two ratios, Geometrical and 
Arithmetical,) was a dream, destitute of even a 
semblance of reality : That the assertion, that 
population always followed production, was the 
reverse of the fact : That the alleged increase of 
population in America, which was said to be 
" irrespective of immigration," was, in fact, caused 
by immigration : That the representations of misery 
in China, arising from over-population, were con- 
tradicted by all the best and latest authorities : # 

* Ever since Mr. Sadler's death, and up to the present hour, 
all kinds of confirmation continue to flow in from every quarter, 
to the truth of his system. Witness the latest accounts of the 
Chinese empire. China was Mr. Malthus's favourite instance of 
the misery inseparable from a crowded population. But what is 
the fact, as attested by the best witnesses in the present day ? 
Listen to one of the most recent : — 

" Care-worn and half-starved faces are rare things in China* 
A plumpness of feature, cheerfulness of mein, and a gait full of 
animation, bespeak a condition of mind that looks on to-day's 
supply with complacency, and forward to to-morrow's chances 
without apprehension. The happiness and general prosperity of 
the Chinese are conspicuous." — The Chinese as they are. By 
G. Tradescant Lay. London, 1841, p. 260. 

Yet Mr. Lay does not deny the fact of the crowded population 
of China. On the contrary, he traces its prosperity and happi- 
ness to this very fact, as a principal cause, 



570 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

That the doublings of population in certain coun- 
tries, said to have actually taken place, were pal- 
pable and monstrous impossibilities, as the least- 
examination made manifest : That the postpone- 
ment of marriages does not tend to lessen popula- 
tion in the way, or to the extent alleged : And 
that the early marriages, laid to the charge of our 
poor, do not, in fact, take place ; nor do they, 
when occurring, augment population as supposed. 
In short, as we have already observed, absolute- 
ly encumbering his work with the multiplicity of 
his well-established facts, he left no single material 
assertion in Mr. Malthus's two octavo volumes, 
in existence. The whole fabric was reduced to a 
shapeless mass of ruins and rubbish. 

2. We have here anticipated the appearance of 
his great work, in 1830, and have spoken of the 
labour as in substance completed several years 
before. He had matured his views, and estab- 
lished the main principles of his theory, when he 
first came forward in 1825, and enunciated his 
leading views in public, in his Lectures on the 
English Poor Laws. In those papers, the manu- 
script of which now lies before us, the rough out- 
line, in all its leading features, of his whole sys- 
tem, is easily discernible. 

3. His next step was occasioned by the circum- 
stances of the times, which brought the state of 



SUMMARY OF MR. SADLER'S SYSTEM. oT i 

Ireland frequently and prominently under discus- 
sion. As the establishment of the rights of hu- 
manity in that country, and the consequent relief 
of England and Scotland from the burden of Irish 
mendicity, were points on which he had formed a 
clear opinion, and felt very deeply interested ; he 
was induced to turn aside, for awhile, and to 
detach a portion of his general scheme of national 
economy, to take its share in the general discus- 
sion. That the most complete success attended 
this effort, is sufficiently proved by the fact, that 
up to the year 1827 scarcely a voice dared to 
make itself heard on the affirmative side of the 
question; and yet in 1838 we find a Poor Law 
established by Parliament in Ireland, to the 
wonder of many who doubted how so great a 
change could have been so rapidly brought about. 

4. Returning from this excursion, Mr. Sadler 
resumed his main employment, and in a short time 
completed the grand labour of his life, — the work 
which destroyed Malthusianism as an acknow- 
ledged and defended system. Individuals will 
doubtless still be met with, who continue to cling 
to the defunct abomination ; but as the creed of 
a party the mischief is extinct. In 1825, it ruled 
and reigned ; and its disciples vaunted its immorta- 
lity : — in 1835, " I sought for it, and it could not be 
found ; and the place thereof shall know it no more." 

5. Having- now established his main and centra' 



572 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

position, and having been raised to a seat in the 
Legislature, Mr. Sadler began immediately to trace 
out and exhibit the necessary and natural results of 
his system. Resolutely maintaining the justice and 
policy, in all times and in all countries, of a law 
for the relief of the indigent poor; — it followed of 
necessity that the very first step to be taken, was, 
to insist on justice being done to Ireland in this 
matter. Nor was it only for her own sake, that 
Ireland required this application of an immutable 
principle ; — the disorganization of England could 
never be effectually remedied, until the two islands 
were placed on one footing in this respect. The 
market for labour must necessarily be constantly 
and seriously encumbered in England, so long as no 
refuge against starvation existed in Ireland. Hence 
it became absolutely indispensable, before any cure 
for England's domestic evils could hopefully be ap- 
plied, — that this burden should be taken off. Mr. 
Sadler, therefore, having first established his case to 
demonstration in his work on Ireland; now laid his 
arguments before parliament; returned again to the 
attack, on the following year, carrying the question 
to a division ; and, defeated only by an exceedingly 
narrow majority, had still the consolation, in his 
retirement, to see the cause go forward, by its own 
momentum ; and thus was enabled calmly and 
hopefully to anticipate the inevitable, and in fact, 
speedy result, of its entire success. 



SUMMARY OF MR. SADLER'S SYSTEM. 573 

6. Having given the needful impetus to this 
great work of national justice and civilization, 
Mr. Sadler felt now at liberty to proceed onwards 
in the task to which he had devoted all the powers 
of his mind ; — The redress of the wrongs, and 
the improvement of the condition, — of the great 
mass of the labouring population of England. 

This task naturally divided itself into two lead- 
ing heads ; although minor divisions, and subsi- 
diary points, often came into view. The agricul- 
tural labourers, and those employed in manufac- 
tures, embraced a very great proportion of the 
English poor ; and almost the entire of those in 
whose condition Mr. Sadler saw so much to 
lament and to remedy. Not that he was ignorant 
of much that was to be deplored, among our 
mining districts, among various departments of 
trade in London, and in other isolated branches of 
industry. But, without forgetting these, it was 
clearly right first to deal with those two great 
leading classes by whose wrongs more than half 
of our whole population was injured ; and by 
whose deliverance, more than half of the entire 
mass would be benefited. Rightly, therefore, 
did he commence his labours, by bringing forward 
plans for ameliorating the condition of the agricul- 
tural and the manufacturing poor. 

The latter of these two happened to occupy the 



. r )74 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

larger portion of his time, during his last year in 
parliament ; and this circumstance, which was 
quite unpremeditated on his part, has given his 
labours somewhat of a party aspect ; and made 
him appear like the promoter of a case against 
the mill-owners, and therefore for the agricul- 
turists. Nothing, however, was further from his 
own views or wishes. Few things, we believe, 
would have pained him more, than to have seen 
these great questions, so involving the well-being 
of the people, used as mere party-engines to rally 
tories against whigs, or whigs against tories. It 
may not be easy to form an opinion at this mo- 
ment, as to which of these great branches of in- 
dustry he would have pronounced to be most 
defiled by abuses and corruptions ; — but there is 
no danger in affirming most confidently, that his 
deep and well-grounded conviction was, that 
among both these classes, — the agricultural and 
manufacturing labourers, great evils, and most 
cruel oppressions, did most extensively, and to 
the imminent peril of the state, prevail. 

His own choice led him first to take up the case 
of the Agricultural Poor. Circumstances, indeed, 
especially the urgent pressure of various friends, 
induced him soon after to bring before parliament 
the case of the infant-labourers in factories ; and 
this question, once opened, soon threw the former 



SUMMARY OP MR. SADLER'S SYSTEM. 575 

subject into the shade. A real and earnest strug- 
gle was commenced, for the improvement of the 
Factory-system ; and in this contention the preced- 
ing topic has been, for the time, forgotten ; but no 
such preference was dictated by Mr. Sadler's own 
mind. He was truly impartial in this matter ; 
constantly asserting the existence of great evils 
and fearful wrongs in both departments ; and quite 
as ready to struggle for the amelioration of the 
one class, as of the other. 

We have felt the more desirous that this should 
be explicitly understood ; because we have re- 
cently observed instances of a disposition to deal 
with these topics in a party spirit ;— -putting for- 
ward the miseries of the factory-labourers as an 
argument, (not indeed without some force,) against 
those who would make the manufacturing system 
the main reliance of the nation : — and, this view, 
again, met by recriminatory statements of the 
hardships of the agricultural poor ; intended to 
shew that the Corn Laws conferred no boon of 
comfort on the labourer. Little practical benefit 
is to be expected from reasonings conducted in 
this spirit. The unquestionable truth is, that 
selfish cupidity has long been at work, and is now 
incessantly and remorseless engaged, alike among 
farmers and mill-owners, in bearing down the 
poor; in warring against the independence and 



576 LIFE OP MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

comfort of the workman ; in reducing him as much 
as possible to the condition of a serf ; — or, which 
is worse, to the state of a " roundsman," — to be 
made use of when wanted ; and sent to the work- 
house when not wanted ; but to be cared for, not 
at all ! 

Mr. Sadler's earlier years were spent among 
the agricultural poor ; and for them his warmest 
sympathies were excited. He saw them, even 
within the thirty or forty years of his own period, 
continually losing ground before the encroach- 
ments of the classes immediately above them. 
Their very dwellings were grudged them ; and a 
general but silent warfare against cottages was car- 
ried on ; while all occupation of land, even to the 
little patch of garden-ground, was generally with- 
drawn. The enclosures deprived them of their 
commons, without even the shew of compensation. 
The advance of the manufacturing system rendered 
the former home-employments of their wives and 
daughters almost unprofitable. Increasing hordes of 
Irish labourers deprived them of the advantages of 
the harvest-season ; and machinery took their 
places on the barn-floor. Then came in the " select 
vestry," and the " roundsman " system ; and 
thus, at last, the poor farm-labourer, in many 
parts of the country, was reduced, not merely to 
poverty, but to the most utter helplessness and 



SUMMARY OF MR. SADLER'S SYSTEM. 577 

hopelessness ; — to a state, indeed, so necessarily 
reckless, as to render poaching, or rick-burning, 
or any other kind of warfare on the rich, just the 
fittest sort of temptation to his state of mind. 

And, while he saw these fearful and still in- 
creasing evils, he saw, also, that the short-sighted 
selfishness which produced them, could neither 
plead the temptation of immediate gain, nor the 
urgency of paramount necessity. In one particular 
instance referred to, the facts of which were given 
with praiseworthy care, by the estimable Vicar of 
Alford,* the cottage-destroying, pauper-making 
system had raised the poor-rates of 15 parishes, 
lying within the range of his inquiry, from £1120 
7s. 8d. per annum, to £6296 6s. 3d. We give a 
few of the particulars ; collected by this clergyman 
in his own vicinity: — 

HUTTOFT. 

Cottages demolished between 1770 and 1830 . . 29 

Cottages built between 1770 and 1830 

Poor and County Rate, 1774 . . . £95 15 1 

Ditto 1830 ... 511 15 11 

BlLSBY. 

Cottages demolished between 1770 and 1830 . . 10 

Cottages built between 1770 and 1830 .... 1 

Poor Rate, 1770 ..... .£69 11 4 

Ditto 1830 550 10 4 

* The Causes of Pauperism and Distress. By the Rev. E> 
Dawson, Vicar of Alford. 

2 P 



578 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

Alford. 

Cottages demolished between 1770 and 1830 . . 11 

Cottages built between 1770 and 1830 ... 

Poor Rates, 1770 . . . . . . £96 17 7 

Ditto 1830 1003 1 6 

Maltby-le-Marsh. 

Cottages demolished between 1770 and 1830 . . 9 

Cottages built in same period 1 

Poor Rates, 1770 £19 19 7 

Ditto 1830 234 8 3 

WlTHERN. 

Cottages demolished between J 770 and 1830 . . 15 
Cottages built in same period ..... 

Poor Rates, 1770 £31 18 9 

Ditto 1830 407 16 2 

We have here selected five out of fifteen, not to 
be tiresome to our readers. But the general result 
of the 1 5 parishes shewed — 

Cottages demolished . 175 
Cottages built . . 12 

The population meanwhile, having increased 
from 4000 to 6000, and the poor-rates having been 
more than quintupled ! 

Now, seeing that this folly, as cruel as it was 
senseless, was still proceeding in all parts of the 
country, surely it was time, as Mr. Sadler pro- 
posed, for the Legislature seriously and vigorously 
to interfere. 



SUMMARY OF MR. SADLER'S SYSTEM. 579 

Nor could there be any rational doubt or diffi- 
culty as to the remedy. The same gentleman who 
has just shown us both the lamentable fact, and 
its results, of the cottage-destroying system, shall 
now, in the briefest and simplest style, exhibit to 
us the happiness and prosperity which that system 
has in a great measure destroyed, but which it is 
perfectly possible to restore. 

" William Houlden, of Rigsby, near Alford, 
aged 55 years, occupies a cottage, with suitable 
appurtenances, and 10a. 2r. 26p. of land attached 
thereto, belonging, as owner, to Miss Manners of 
Bloxholm, at the yearly rent of 10/. 10s. His 
ancestors and himself have occupied the same 
cottage for more than a century : three acres of 
the land are of very inferior quality, the rest good. 
He applies about a rood and a half to gardening 
purposes. The rent has always been punctually- 
paid. But on two occasions a whole half-year's 
rent was returned to him. This was done in con- 
sideration of some severe losses among his live-stock. 
The rent averages what is paid by the farmers in 
the same parish. His usual employment is working 
for the farmers or in the neighbouring woods. His 
wife has borne him eleven children, ten of whom 
are now living. Four are in respectable services, or 
otherwise able to provide for themselves. He has 
for a long time supported, and still supports, in 

2 P 2 



580 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

decency and comfort, a worthy mother now bend- 
ing beneath the load of eighty-one years. This 
man, who has had a family of ten children to rear, 
only four of whom are able to provide for them- 
selves, and an aged mother to support, never once 
received parochial relief. Some time ago the 
churchwarden of Rigsby observed to me, * that 
if there was an honest man in the world, Will 
Houlden was.' " * 

But this, it may be said, is merely an isolated 
case : take, then, a whole parish : — 

" The parish of Raithby, near Spilsby, contains 
1149 acres, and 175 inhabitants. The expendi- 
ture in the year 1832, on account of the poor, 
was £126. 9s. Id. being about 2s. l;|d. per pound 
on a rack-rent rate of about £1180. This parish 
contains four cottages having not less than one rood, 
but under five acres ; eleven having five acres, but 
under ten : four having ten acres, but under fifteen ; 
total, nineteen. The rent averages, or is not more, 
than what is paid by the farmers in the same pa- 
rish. Mr. John Hobson, of Raithby, to whose 
kindness I am indebted for this information, re- 
marks in his letter now before me. " With re- 
spect to my own observations on the cottage-sys- 
tem, I must beg leave to say, that the comfort of 

* Dawson's Causes of Pauperism, p. 3, 4, 



SUMMARY OF MR. SADLER'S SYSTEM. 581 

the lower class of society in Raithby is entirely to 
be attributed to that system. I can assure you 
(being one of the largest occupiers in the parish) 
from my own observation, the benefit is incalcula- 
ble" I shall only add, that the observant travel- 
ler, who may chance to pass through the village of 
Raithby, can hardly fail, while marking the modest 
unpretending neatness of these time-honoured 
cottages and their premises (the best index of com- 
fort within), to be impressed with a sentiment 
alike favourable to the owner, and the occupiers 
of the property. The very moderate rates of the 
parish of Raithby, notwithstanding the number of 
its cottages, go far to refute the heartless doctrine, 
that cottages aggravate the poor-rates."* 

We may add to this testimony, that arising 
from our own observation, in the case particularly 
described in Appendix E. of the present volume. 
Struck with that description, given, however, 
nearly half a century since, we recently visited 
the parish in question, with a view to ascertain 
whether any change had taken place in its then 
happy condition. 

On our arrival at the village, we sought out the 
Guardian of the Poor ; and acquainted him with 
the object of our visit—namely, to inquire into 

* Dawson's Causes of Pauperism, p. 5, 6. 



582 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

the present condition of the poor of that parish. 
His answer was, " Sir, we have no poor." " How 
" is that ?" was the rejoinder, " Do you mean to 
" say that you have no poor-rates, nor any demand 
" on the funds of the Union V " They make us 
" raise a poor-rate of 6d. in the pound every year," 
replied he, " but we have at present no charge what- 
" ever on the funds of the board." " How, then, do 
" your labourers contrive ?" was the next question, 
— " that they never want help V 9 " The cottagers, 
" Sir, have all of them a bit of land, at a moderate 
" rent ; and so, what with working for the farmers 
" when they are wanted, and working in their 
" own gardens at other times, they manage to do 
" very well. We scarcely ever have any applica- 
" tion from them." " And what are the wages of 
" farm-labourers, hereabouts ?" " Two shillings 
" a day, Sir, everywhere in this country." 

Here, then, was a purely agricultural commu- 
nity, properly distributed and adjusted. There 
were no serfs ; for the poor cottager with his four 
or five acres of ground, and a right to send a cow 
into " the cow-pastures " for 12s. per annum, pos- 
sessed just that degree of independence which was 
right and desirable. All was orderly and happy, 
because all was humane and Christian-like. 

But through how many parishes of equal extent 
and population might we pass, in Wiltshire, 



583 

Hampshire, Sussex, or Buckinghamshire, before 
we came to such another community ? In most 
parts of these, and of many other counties of 
England, a covert war has been made upon the 
poor. Whenever it was possible, their little 
dwellings have been thrown down ; and now we 
often find two families in one miserable hovel ; a 
father, mother, and several sons and daughters, all 
sleeping in one room. The least scrap of garden is in 
most cases denied. # The same mean and selfish 
policy is seen in the management of the farms. As 
small an outlay of labour as possible is bestowed 
upon the land. Thus, having no gardens to fill up 
their unemployed hours, the whole mass of labour- 
ers are thrown upon a reluctant market ; and the 
farmer has no difficulty in beating down wages to 
Is. 2d. or Is. 4d. a day. But it is obvious, that a 
labourer in Rutland, with four or five acres of land, 
and access to the parochial cow-pastures, and earn- 
ing 2s. per day when at work for the farmer, is fully 
twice as well off as one in Buckinghamshire, at 
Is. 4d. a day, without even a foot of garden- 
ground. The difference is just that between com- 

* A clergyman in Buckinghamshire once remarked in our 
hearing, that when, in one instance, some cottage-allotments had 
been given to the poor,— most of the labourers, when they dug 
up their potatoes, had no place to put them in, but under their 
bedsteads ! 



584 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

fort and misery ; between humble ease and inde- 
pendence, and hopeless, reckless penury and half- 
starvation. 

The " bane and antidote," then, are " both 
before us." It is scarcely possible for any one thing 
to be made more clear and indubitable, than is 
the way in which our agricultural poor may be 
raised from their present too general depression. 
But to do this, legislative interference is abso- 
lutely essential. That short-sighted selfishness 
which has spread suffering and discontent over 
half the counties of England, will not suddenly 
change into kindness and sympathy ; or hasten, 
in a strange and unprecedented repentance, to 
undo its own work. Hence it was that Mr. 
Sadler urged this great question on the attention 
of the British parliament, and would unquestiona- 
bly, had he remained in the House of Commons, 
have continually renewed his appeal. His speech 
and motion for leave to bring in a bill, was fol- 
lowed by a draft of the measure itself, which 
was printed, and distributed among the members, 
with a view to future discussion. But shortly 
afterwards he was forced by the government to 
send the case of the factory-labourers to a com- 
mittee ; of which committee he himself became 
of necessity chairman ; and this protracted in- 
vestigation rendered it impossible to take another 



SUMMARY OF MR. SADLER'S SYSTEM. 585 

step in the agricultural question during that 
session. 

His bill embraced three main objects, together 
with sundry minor points : The three chief were, 
1. The providing everywhere, a sufficient number 
of cottages to accommodate the labourers : 2. The 
giving to all the deserving poor, in the agricultural 
districts, an opportunity of occupying small plots of 
ground, for the employment of their leisure hours : 
3. The institution of a new class of officers, one 
being allotted to each parish ; under the title of 
' ' protectors of the poor ; " with powers to carry 
into full effect the two objects just stated.* 

Such was his measure ; — -simple, but of the 
most straight- forward and effectual kind. Had it 
been adopted, the New Poor Law would never 
have been required ; and at the present moment 
England would have been both a stronger and 
a happier realm than she now is. At present the 
evil still exists ; and, until something very nearly 
tantamount to his plan is adopted, that evil will 
continue to exist. 

The three widely-differing modes of dealing 
with the poor, which are advocated by the three 
main divisions of the British public, are these: — ■ 

* An office somewhat resembling this, has recently been 
created in many of our Colonies, under the title of " Protectors 
of the Aborigir^s ." 



586 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

1 . The Malthusian ; which boldly proposes to 
treat poverty as a crime ; and to enact " the pre- 
ventive check " to the fullest extent. Every un- 
employed and indigent man is to be told, that 
" he has no business to be where he is ;" and 
that " at Nature's great feast there is no vacant 
place for him." Of course all laws for the relief 
of the indigent are declared to be vicious in prin- 
ciple ; and to be entirely repealed as quickly as 
possible. Any man, after such repeal, daring to 
marry without a prospect of being able to maintain 
a family, (the word " prospect " here is shewn 
by the penalty attached to mean "certainty ;"— 
a certainty which no one who subsists by daily 
labour can possibly attain) is to be held a crimi- 
nal ; and if sickness or want of employment over- 
takes him, he is to be " left to the punishment of 
" Nature, the punishment of severe want." * 

2. Next, we have, the New Poor Law system, 
which is based upon the Malthusian principle, but 
is accommodated to the circumstances of the times ; 
its authors rightly judging, that pure Malthusian - 
ism,in the shape of law, would not be tolerated for 
a moment by the people of England. This mode- 
rated system, therefore, only proposes to " elevate 
the character of the poor," by " throwing them on 

* Malthus, Essay, 4to. p. 539. 



SUMMARY OF MR. SADLER'S SYSTEM. 587 

their own resources ; " teaching them prudence, 
forethought, &c. &c. Practically, however, it 
seeks to tighten the system of relief; to make 
assistance difficult and disagreeable to the poor 
man ; and to clog its aid with such hateful condi- 
tions as to induce many rather to starve than ac- 
cept it . Throughout the whole of this scheme, 
while it differs from Malthus in admitting the 
right of the indigent to relief in want, there is still 
not one single breathing of sympathy or kindness 
towards the poor. 

3. Differing from both these, Mr. Sadler's 
system at once professed to regard the poor as 
" more sinned against than sinning;" as those who, 
though not faultless, had been driven and drawn 
into fault by the mismanagement of their rulers. 
Yet he proposed no reckless or lavish distribution 
of alms. All he wished was, to approach them as 
friends, and as wishing to do them good. Thus, to 
excite hope, — to lead them onwards and upwards 
by encouragements to industry, — to rebuild their 
demolished cottages, — to restore their stolen gar- 
dens ; and to replace those rounds of the ladder, 
immediately above their own, which it had been 
the constant effort of selfish men for half a cen- 
tury to break away. 

As we have already said, England will not be 
herself again until some system based upon this 



588 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

principle be publicly and nationally adopted. 
Meanwhile, however, the evils of the existing state 
of things may be partially and locally checked, by 
the adoption of Mr. Sadler's system, in their own 
neighbourhood, by those who have power over 
land. We again quote from Mr. Dawson : — 

" The conclusions which I draw from the fore- 
going statements are, that there is a great fond- 
ness on the part of industrious persons, whether 
in moderate or indigent circumstances, to culti- 
vate, on almost any terms, a little ground on their 
own account ; that such cultivation would be very 
beneficial to them, could they obtain land at the 
average price paid by the large occupiers ; that 
facilities in this behalf are not afforded, otherwise 
the high prices stated above could not possibly 
have been obtained ; that a cottage strictly agri- 
cultural as far exceeds in value what is called 
accommodation land, as burnished gold surpasses 
glittering tinsel ; and that an increase in the num- 
ber of such cottages would greatly tend to produce 
an increase in the number of worthy rural charac- 
ters. The author of the Vicar of Wakefield has 
feelingly observed, ' that the nakedness of the 
indigent world 3 might ' be clothed from the trim- 
mings of the vain/ Permit me to adopt and to 
extend the idea, (unaccompanied, however, by 
reproach, either open or insinuated,) by observing, 



SUMMARY OF MR. SADLER'S SYSTEM. 589 

that the hems and fringes of the estates of the 
large landed proprietors would be amply sufficient, 
not only to clothe, but also to feed the industrious 
but ' indigent world ;' and this, without any 
diminution of income, without any injury to the 
property, and without any encroachment on the 
just and legal rights of ownership." 

We believe that there is a great disposition 
among the larger landed proprietors, to act in this 
manner towards the poor. Indeed, in the various 
efforts which are now making, in various parts of 
England, to revive the spirit and character of the 
peasantry, it is almost always seen that a large 
proprietor, whether peer or commoner, is the 
mainspring of the improvement. The opposition 
arises chiefly from those who fancy their own 
interests interfered with ; — the farmers and ma- 
nagers of estates. The former generally object to 
the occupation of land by the labourers, on the 
ground that " it makes the men saucy ;" — in other 
words, it lifts them one stage above that utter 
helplessness which is most convenient for the 
selfish employer. The manager or steward, too, 
often sympathises with the man of his own rank; 
and finds it easier to collect rent from ten great 
farmers, than from nine farmers and fifty cot- 
tagers. Hence, the land-owner who desires to 
make an effort to regenerate the pauper- peasantry 



590 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

of his neighbourhood, must resolve on encounter- 
ing and overcoming much trouble ; and overbear- 
ing numberless obstacles which will strangely and 
suddenly spring up in his path. Let him, how- 
ever, persevere, and that not for one or two years 
only, but for ten ; and he shall ultimately reap a 
rich reward for his labour. 

But it is time we proceeded to the consideration 
of the circumstances of the other great section of 
the national industry, — that devoted to Manufac- 
tures. It so happened that circumstances drew 
Mr. Sadler so much more prominently forward in 
this matter, than in the former, as in some mea- 
sure to associate his name in perpetuity with " The 
Factory question." 

The demands made by him on the justice and 
humanity of the legislature, on behalf of the infant 
labourers in the factories, were, prima fades, such 
as could neither be questioned nor resisted. It 
was asserted, and established by abundant proof, 
that the general practice of the mill-owners, in all 
branches, and in all parts of the country, was to 
run their machinery, chiefly tended by young 
children, thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen hours a 
day, and in many cases even to a greater extent. 

The effects of such protracted labour on the 
infant frame, were deeply and permanently inju- 
rious, weakening and crippling the bodily frame ; 



SUMMARY OF MR. SADLER'S SYSTEM. 591 

often inducing disease and death ; and universally 
preventing all mental or religious instruction. 
These evils, — so inevitably following over-labour, 
that the minute and particular proof of them 
ought never to have been required, — were fully 
proved before a Committee of the House of Com- 
mons ; and again established by the personal 
enquiry in the factory-districts, of a body of Com- 
missioners, chosen by a government favourable to 
the mill-owners, and therefore not themselves 
likely to be prejudiced against that powerful body. 
The wrong done being thus made clear and 
certain ; redress ought to have followed without 
delay. But it has not yet followed. Even to this 
moment, the influence of the mill-owners prevails, 
and justice and mercy still linger in their course. 
Pleas are offered to stop the application of the 
remedy. All that remains for us to do, then, is 
to examine for a few moments, the validity of these 
pleas. 

It is said, that the facts established may make an 
impression on the feelings ; but that " sound 
policy, " and " more enlarged views," would bring 
to light other considerations, chiefly of an econo- 
mical kind, which ought to make us pause before 
we yield to mere impressions in this matter. That 
children should be worked beyond their strength, 
is admitted to be an evil ; but it is said that other 



592 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

evils, and perhaps still more serious ones, would 
arise from not so working them. These are gene- 
rally hinted, in somewhat vague terms, to be the 
loss of those children's wages to the parents, by 
their being thrown out of work ; (though why a 
law reducing the hours of labour to ten daily, 
should throw them out of work, is not explained,) 
— also, the possible injury to our manufacturers 
generally, if foreigners, extracting more labour per 
diem from their work-people than we do, should 
thereby undersell us in all open markets. 

Now, to go into these minute points, as to pos- 
sible evils, would be a most endless and hopeless 
task ; inasmuch as all must be vague speculation 
as to future results, concerning which no certainty 
could by any means be attained. But it seems to 
us not at all difficult to shew, to any really unpre- 
judiced and dispassionate mind, that one of the 
main doctrines of the modern school of political 
economists, even of the most ultra-Malthusian 
cast, ought, if fairly carried out to its results, to 
lead to the very limitation of labour for which Mr. 
Sadler pleaded. We repeat, that meeting these 
reasoners on their own ground of economical 
policy, and quite postponing, for the moment, the 
claims of justice and humanity, they are bound 
by their own principles to join us in demanding a 
" Ten-Hour Bill." 



SUMMARY OP HIS SYSTEM. 593 

It will not require much time or space to ex- 
plain what we mean. We begin with Mr. John 
Ramsay M'Culloch, who, in his remarkable evi- 
dence before a Committee of the House of Com- 
mons in 1825, advised, 

" The introduction into parish-schools of books 
" teaching the plain and elementary principles 
" about population and wages : " so as to teach 
the children " that their condition depended upon 
" the wages they could earn ; and that those 
" wages depended upon the proportion which their 
" numbers bore to the numbers that were in de- 
11 mand, to be employed." And thus, by " ex- 
" plaining to the children of the poor the princi- 
" pies which determine the extent to which they 
" shall be able to command the comforts and 
" necessaries of life," to " remove habits of impro- 
" vidence with respect to early marriages." 

Next, we open the work of another oracle of 
the same party, Mrs. Marcet, who puts this sort 
of reasoning into her village Solon's mouth : 

<( John then went on to show that if the labourers 
" took care to have small families ,($) they would gain 
" another and a still greater advantage : not only 
"would they have fewer children to clothe and 
" feed, and therefore their money would go farther, 
'* but also their wages would necessarily be higher. 
" The rich, instead of having too many workmen, 

2 Q 



594 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

" would have too few. His wife thought that this 
" would not mend matters, for that the fewer the 
" labourers, the more work would each have to do. 
" But John replied very properly, * Nay, nay, we 
" are not slaves, and cannot be forced to work more 
" than we are willing. Now,' continued he, * if 
" we were fewer in number, the rich would be look- 
v ing out for workmen, instead of workmen looking 
" out for employers, as is the case now. And if 
" there was a want of hands instead of a want of 
" work, those who wanted work to be done would 
" be ready enough to pay higher wages. We might 
" say to our employers, ' If you do not choose to 
" give us a better price for our labour, we will go 
" elsewhere to others who will.' But if any of us 
" were to say that now, when there are so many all 
" wanting employment, we should starve in idle- 
" ness, for others would consent to work at the low 
" prices which we had refused." 

Again, on a supposition of a reduction of labour- 
ers, and consequent advance of wages ; 

" Then," said his wife, returning to her favourite 
subject, " when the labouring people were so well 
" off, they might marry young, for they could afford 
" to provide for a large family if they chanced to 
" have one." John readily agreed to this, observing 
at the same time, " that people must take care, 
" however, not to overshoot the mark ; for that, if 



SUMMARY OF HIS SYSTEM. 595 

" they increased and multiplied so much, that in 
" the end the market were again overstocked with 
"labourers, wages would naturally lower again, 
" and then the poor would be in no better 
plight " than they were before the plague. And 
that "is the plight we are in now," continued 
John. # 

Once more; " Many years ago a cotton-manu- 
"■ facture was set up in the neighbourhood, which 
"afforded ample employment for the poor; and 
" even the children who were before idle, could 
" now earn something towards their maintenance. 
" This, during some years, had an admirable 
" effect in raising the condition of the labouring 
" classes." * ~ * * * "But this 
" prosperous state was not of long duration; in 
" the course of time the village became over- 
u stocked with labourers, and it is now sunk into 
" a state of poverty and distress worse than that 
" from which it had emerged. Thus this manu- 
" facture, which at first proved a blessing to the 
" village, and might always have continued such, 
" was, by the improvidence of the labourers, converted 
" into an evil. If the population had not increased 
" beyond the demand for labour, the manufac- 

* John Hopkins's Notions of Political Economy. By the Au- 
thor of " Conversations on Chemistry." pp. 60, 65. 

2 Q 2 



596 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

" ture might still have afforded them the advan- 
" tage it at first produced." * 

Lastly, we turn to a third teacher of the same 
school, the equally famed Miss Martineau, who 
thus counsels, — 

" What, then, must be done, to lessen the num- 
" berofthe indigent now so frightfully increasing? 

" The number of consumers must be propor- 
" tioned to the subsistence -fund. To this end, all 
" encouragements to the increase of population 
" should be withdrawn, and every sanction given 
" to the preventive check." f 

And, in another place, addressing the work- 
people, she asks, — 

" Could so dreadful a reduction (of wages) have 
" ever taken place, if you had not undersold one 
" another ? And how are the masters to help 
" you if you go on increasing your numbers and 
" underselling one another, as if your employers 
" could find occupation for any number of millions 
" of you, or could coin the stones under your feet 
11 into wages, or knead the dust of the earth into 
' bread ? They do what they can for you, in in- 
" creasing the capital on which you are to subsist ; 



* Conversations on Political Economy. 1817. p. 151, 152. 
f Cousin Marshall; By Harriet Martineau, p. 132. 



SUMMARY OF HIS SYSTEM. 597 

" and you must do the rest, by proportioning your 
" numbers to the means of subsistence" # 

Thus do we find each of these great teachers of 
Political Economy insisting upon the same points, 
— that the rate of wages mainly depends on the 
quantity of labour in the market; — -that if the 
market of labour be " overstocked," wages must 
inevitably be depressed ; — and that the pres- 
sure on the market of labour, by which wages 
are so lamentably reduced, is to be mainly or 
even solely attributed to " the improvidence of 
the working classes," in " increasing their num- 
bers : " So that the only remedy to be looked 
for must spring from the work-people themselves ; 
by their general adoption of " the preventive 
check," and their thus " proportioning their num- 
bers to the means of subsistence." 

But this is, most clearly and undeniably, a 
one-sided and atrociously unjust view. It is far 
more easy for the masters to " overstock the labour- 
market," than for the workmen : It is quite capable 
of proof that this evil has originated with the for- 
mer, — not with the latter : And it would be much 
more rational to look for a cure in this direction, 
than to expect it in the other. 

Let us examine the matter in the most practical 

» 

* Manchester Strike : By Harriet Martineau, p. 101. 



598 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

way. We will take the case, for example, of a 
Leicestershire or Nottinghamshire town ; in which 
hosiery of various kinds is the staple manufacture. 
Let us assume that one thousand work-people of 
different classes have been for years employed in 
this town, at fair wages ; and that this appears to 
be about the number of hands that the stocking- 
trade of that town can conveniently and profitably 
maintain. 

Now, say the M'Cullochs, Martineaus, and 
Marcets, — if, in the place where these 1000 hands, 
and no more, are required, — there offer themselves 
in the labour-market, some 1200 or 1300, — it is 
certain that the competition for employment will 
materially reduce wages ; and thus a great step 
towards poverty and distress will be taken. This 
position no one will think of denying. But then 
these three kind-hearted persons insist on going 
further, and assuming at once that the work- 
people have, by improvident marriages, thus 
brought 1 300 hands into the market in which only 
1000 were needed ; and have thus, by their own 
folly 9 caused, and brought upon themselves, all the 
misery which now exists ! 

The first and most obvious objection to this bold 
assumption, is, that it not only takes for granted 
some very strange and important things, which 
ought not and cannot be credited without the 



SUMMARY OF HIS SYSTEM. 599 

clearest proof ; — but that it entirely contradicts 
all that established series of facts which usually 
form the basis of all such calculations. 

We are now speaking of the increase of a manu- 
facturing population,— not by immigration, be it 
observed, but, by " improvident marriages." It 
is to these that Messrs. M'Culloch and Co. attri- 
bute the overflow of the labour-market ; and it is 
of this fault only that we have to speak. 

Now there is perhaps scarcely any one fact more 
thoroughly established than this, — that a manu- 
facturing population, — the labourers in a factory- 
town, — so far from increasing too fast by " im- 
provident marriages," would, if not fed by constant 
immigration from without, fail of keeping tip its 
own numbers. Most assuredly, the most that any 
person can possibly assume of such a population, 
is, — putting immigration out of the question, — that 
it might grow correlatively with the whole popu- 
lation of the realm ; — so that if the kingdom ad- 
vanced ten per cent, in seven years, it would 
advance as much. We doubt if there be a manu- 
facturing town of any size, of which, excluding 
immigration, even so much as this could safely 
be asserted. 

But what can be more clear than this, — that a 
population only augmenting itself at an equal 
rate with the whole population of the realm, can- 



600 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

not be chargeable with " overloading the labour- 
market?" If the 1000 stocking- weavers had grown 
into 1100 in seven years, — the legs of the nation, 
to clothe which they laboured, would also have 
grown, in the same time, from 10,000,000 pairs, 
to 11,000,000. And thus all would remain cor- 
relatively the same as before. 

The charge against the poor work-people, then, 
of causing their own distress by their own improvi- 
dence, is unfounded ; and being unfounded, it is 
most unfeeling, cruel, and oppressive. Our present 
object, however, is to shew, that it ought to be 
alleged, not against the workmen, but against the 
masters ; and that in a way which strongly bears 
npon the question of the " Ten-Hour Bill." 

The work-people are represented by all the 
writers we have just quoted, as " overstocking the 
market of labour " by their excessive numbers, 
caused by improvident marriages. Yet nothing can 
be more obvious than this, — that no 1000 labour- 
ers that ever yet lived, could, by their " impro- 
vident marriages," overstock the market of their 
town with competitors for labour, in less than a 
period extending over some ten or twenty years. 

On the other hand it is quite undeniable 
that the masters of the supposed town can, if 
they please, produce the very same result in the 
course of a few months. And this, irrespective of 



SUMMARY OF HIS SYSTEM. 601 

immigration ; by simply increasing the hours of 
labour. 

In the town we have supposed, 1000 work- 
people have been comfortably supported ; proceed- 
ing (we are of course looking back a few years) 
on the old-fashioned notion, that " a day's work" 
included twelve hours ; out of which two were 
allowed for meals ; leaving a net labour of ten 
hours. Now we have already conceded, that the 
appearance of 200 or 300 more labourers in the 
market, without any answerable increase in the 
demand for goods, must " burden the market of 
labour " and greatly depress wages. But is it not 
quite obvious that exactly the same consequences 
must follow from a determination, on the part of 
the masters, to work their hands twelve or thir- 
teen hours per diem, exclusive of meals ; instead 
of ten, as heretofore? 

If the masters should thus, employing the same 
number of hands, make 1200 or 1300 pairs of 
stockings where they previously made only 1000 ; 
without, however, having any increased demand ; 
they would quickly glut the market with goods ; de- 
press prices; and thus compel the lowering of wages. 
But if they only aimed at making as many goods 
as heretofore, this they would be able to do with 
800 hands instead of 1000 ; and thus 200 hands 
would be thrown out of work ; would press upon 



602 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

the labour-market ; and would thus, in another 
way, bring about a lowering of wages. 

What can be more obvious, then, than that it is 
far more in the power of the masters to " overstock 
the labour-market," than of the workmen ; that 
they are also more likely to do it, than the latter; 
and that, in fact, the pressure on the market which 
has recently taken place, and under which wages 
are at present so lamentably depressed, is their 
work, and ought not to be laid to " the improvi- 
dence and early marriages" of the workmen. 

Let any one try to conceive, if he can, what 
would have been the state of this kingdom, at the 
present moment, if, for the last seven years, the 
manufacturers, instead of urging on their work-peo- 
ple to a toil of fourteen, fifteen, and often sixteen 
hours per diem, had contented themselves with the 
moderate business, and moderate gains, which might 
have been realized by " a fair day's labour." 

We may concede, indeed, that probably some 
three or four Marshalls or Cobdens would have 
failed to realize the enormous fortunes which they 
have made in those years ; but except in this one 
respect, what other parties could be named, who 
would not have been gainers by the lower and 
more moderate system ? 

We should not have seen the scores of head- 
long men, whose hopes, excited by the wealth so 



SUMMARY OF HIS SYSTEM. 603 

rapidly realized by a few individuals, drew them 
into a vehement career in the same path ; which, in 
nine cases out of ten, has ended in ruin to them- 
selves, and heavy losses to all connected with them. 

We should not have seen the hundreds of new 
houses rising up in a few months, at Stockport, 
Nottingham, Ashton, &c. for the accommodation 
of the myriads of new work-people brought into 
the labour-market; not by the " improvidence" 
and early marriages of the workmen already em- 
ployed ; but by the greedy, ravenous cupidity of 
the Gregs and Ashworths ; and which dwel- 
lings are now either standing unoccupied, or filled 
only by the starving victims of that cupidity. 

We should not have seen the markets of the 
world so glutted with English goods, as to return 
one general answer from every quarter of the 
globe, " They cannot be sold even for two- thirds 
" of the cost of manufacturing them." 

Instead of all these things, we should have 
beheld a quiet and steady growth of trade, spring- 
ing out of, and answering to, the growth of popu- 
lation. We should have seen wages rise rather 
than fall ; and the condition of the working classes 
become gradually better and more hopeful. 

These results would unquestionably have flowed 
from any measure which could have secured the 
limitation, seven years since, of the " day's la- 



604 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

bour," whether in factory or workshop, to the 
old-fashioned, common-sense extent, of ten hours' 
actual work, exclusive of two for meals. May we 
not, then, reasonably assert, that if it had been 
possible for any government to have obtained these 
results without any vicious interference with trade, 
it ought to have felt the greatest desire to do so. 

We say, then, that on the principles of M'Cul- 
loch, Martineau, &c. — which show us how the rate 
of wages is depressed by any " burdening of the 
labour-market," — any proposition which had a ten- 
dency to hinder such a burdening, ought to be 
regarded with favour by a paternal government. 

We do not, however, overlook or underrate the 
objections which must always exist, to any legis- 
lative interference between workman and em- 
ployer. However desirable we may deem it, to 
place a strong curb upon that " haste to get rich," 
which produces such misery and confusion ; we 
readily admit the impolicy and impropriety of 
intermeddling with men in the conduct of their 
affairs, so long as no positive offence against 
equity or morals is committed. Hence, we can- 
not counsel the least attempt to fix a minimum of 
wages ; or to interpose in any way between the 
employer and his adult and responsible workman. 

But the case is different when the helpless and 
unprotected call upon us to guard them from 



SUMMARY OF HIS SYSTEM. 605 

cruel oppression. We would hasten to their assis- 
tance without scruple and without delay ; and all 
the more willingly if such interference appeared 
likely to effect also that other object, — of checking 
excessive labour, impartially, whether of adults or 
of children. 

The general conclusions, then, at which we ar- 
rive, are of this kind : — 

1 . That an excessive amount of labour may be 
brought into the market, and wages thereby be 
reduced, more certainly, and more readily, by the 
employer's increasing each man's work, than by 
the workmen increasing their own numbers by 
improvident marriages : 

2. That this depressing weight thrown upon 
the labour-market, of late years, by the cupidity 
of the masters, has mainly brought about the pre- 
sent want of employment, and consequent low 
rate of wages : 

3. That the disposition of the Legislature ought 
to be, to look with a jealous eye on this result of 
excessive competition ; and to embrace every 
opportunity of checking it : 

4. That the bodily and mental injuries inflicted 
on the infant-labourers in factories, are denied by 
no one ; and the redress of these enormous wrongs 
is called for by the whole community, excepting 
only those persons who profit by them, 



606 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

And, 5. That thus both classes of motives, the 
economical and the moral, unite in urging us to 
the immediate adoption of a measure like (( the 
Ten-Hour Bill ; " which, while it protects the 
infant-labourers, on the one hand ; has also a ten- 
dency to check all over-work, on the other. 

We have now, we believe, developed the main 
features of Mr. Sadler's system ; which may per- 
haps be made more intelligible, and more easily 
embraced by the eye, in the following form : — 

His first principle involved a direct denial of the 
Malthusian scheme, and the assertion of an oppo- 
site theory : 

He shewed the " geometric ratio," — the founda- 
tion of Mr. Malthus's system, — to be a fiction, 
utterly at variance with every known fact : 

He shewed that the tendency of the Divine com- 
mand, " Increase and multiply," — was towards 
happiness and prosperity, and not, as Mr. Malthus 
asserted, towards misery and starvation : # 

* We have already adverted (in Note, p. 569) to the tes- 
timony of Mr. G. Tradescant Lay, one of the latest residents 
in China, touching the condition of the people of that country. 
The evidence of that gentleman is conclusive as to the question 
of population. From Mr. Malthus down to his latest disciple in 
the present day, the universal dread appears to be, the increasing 
numbers of the people. This is the main evil which, according 
to their view, afflicts our globe. All other evils might be recti- 
fied, if only this dreadful growth of population could be stayed ! 



SUMMARY OF HIS SYSTEM. 607 

He shewed that "the Preventive check," — the 
main reliance of Malthus and his followers for the 

From these theorists, it is delightful to turn to the language of a 
man who has himself lived in that populous empire ; and who 
thus describes his impressions : — 

" The prosperity of the Chinese tempts me to frame a system 
" of political economy, which lays Population as the founda- 
li tion whereon everything in the way of social comfort and 
" personal affluence is reared. If the valleys and plains be 
" covered with inhabitants, the opportunities of living by the 
" chase or the spontaneous gifts of nature are soon reduced, 
" and the soil must be turned over for a crop, and the 
" sea be summoned to yield its finny stores. The necessity of 
" tilling the ground and investing the water with nets, prompts 
" men to set about the manufacture of implements of husbandry 
u and the building of boats. Here we have the first germs of 
" art and enterprise. The skill employed in the forging of a 
u spade to stir the ground, or a plough to part the clods, may 
u be diverted into a hundred channels, and ultimately give rise 
" to as many discoveries." " The wealth of the community 
" grows out of man, and not out of the soil, except in a 
u secondary and subordinate sense. This we see demonstrated 
" in countries where the means of living are secured without 
" industry ; for the people have nothing beside. If the tenants 
' '- should all on a sudden be so far multiplied that much labour 
lt and assiduity were needful to obtain a livelihood, that would 
"prove the birth-day of plenty. I look upon man as the great 
" capital of a nation — a view which is based upon what I see in 
" China, where a swarming people are incircled by a swarm of 
" comforts. In no country do the inhabitants crowd every habi- 
" table spot as in China; in no country do the poor people 
" abound with so many of the elegancies and luxuries of life." 
" Early marriage encourages fertility and augments the popula- 
" tion, already vast, and, consequently, the means of living, 



608 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

salvation of the country, — was utterly fallacious 
as to its results ; while, at the same time, it was 
full of cruelty in its operation* 

He shewed, therefore, that the dictates of God's 
word, and of every man's conscience, were to be 

" which bear a ratio to that population. Thus we are carried 
" round in a circle, and brought back to man, with this bene- 
" diction, " Be fruitful and multiply," as the corner-stone of all 
" the stores of plenty. 

" Were I about to graduate a scale in accordance with the 
" theory I have advanced, I should begin with Borneo Proper, 
" the fairest land that couches beneath a genial sun, and say, 
" ' See, here, amidst all the capabilities of a fertile soil, a favour- 
" ing climate, and ample territories, is a wretched apology for a 
" market, — consisting of a few vegetables, a little fish, with here 
" and there a fowl; and as for the men, a child might number 
" them ! ' — Let this Borneo be considered as zero in our politico- 
" ceconomic scale. In China, the natives throng all those parts 
" which are susceptible of tillage, till there is not room enough 
" to hold them. Here we behold an assortment of comforts for 
" the poor, such as no other country can parallel : — Let this be 
" the maximum height of our scale." — Pages 262 — 264. 

* The phrase, " Preventive Check," may, to those who have 
only slightly studied the subject, merely convey the idea of pru- 
dence or foresight ; and such may wonder why any repugnance 
should exist towards so indispensable a point in morality. Let 
us, then, briefly shew what those who inculcate this same " Pre- 
ventive Check " really mean by it. We will shew this entirely in 
their own words. 

The Edinburgh Review, after insisting that " measures ought 
" to be taken to check the undue increase of labourers ; " — in- 
stances, as one such step, — that " something decisive ought to be 
done " to check the practice of building cottages for paupers." (Vol, 



SUMMARY OF HIS SYSTEM. GOO 

obeyed, and not overruled, as Mr. Malthas would 
have counselled, by a hard and relentless system 
of " philosophy, falsely so called :" That to pity 

liii. p. 58.) The same writer adds, that no farmer who under- 
stood his own interest, would " suffer " a labourer to possess 
any land " beyond a moderate- sized garden." 

Miss Martineau obliges us with some further details. In the 
same work, — " Cousin Marshall" — in which she lays it down as 
a first principle, that " all encouragement to the increase of popu- 
" lation should be withdrawn, and every sanction given to the 
" preventive check," — she thus particularizes the withdrawals 
she recommends : 

" The cottage system will not bear the test. Under no system 
" does population increase more rapidly." (p. 115.) 

" The more support you offer them, the more surprisingly 
" they will increase. Surely you do not mean to go on giving 
" coals and blankets !" (p. 117.) 

" The absence of Dispensaries and Lying-in Hospitals would be 
" the absence of evil to society." " The Lying-in Charity the 
"worst in existence ;— so direct a bounty on improvidence, — 
'* so high a premium on population." (p. 35, 37.) 

" Almshouses for the aged are very had things. Numbers of 
" young people marry under the expectation of getting their 
" helpless parents maintained by the public." (p. 42.) 

Thus we see that, according to their own explanation of the 
term, " the preventive check, " when thoroughly enforced, goes 
to repress the building of cottages ; to deprive every poor man 
of all holding of land beyond a " moderate-sized garden ;" to put 
down almshouses for the aged ; dispensaries and lying-in hos- 
pitals for the sick and destitute ; and the distribution even of 
clothing and fuel to the shivering poor in winter's inclemency ! 
In fact, as Lord Althorp plainly stated in the House of Commons, 
this principle, fairly carried out, prohibits both legal relief, and 
all kinds of private charity ! Need we say any more to prove 

2 R 



610 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

and assist the poor, both individually and nation- 
ally, was sound policy, as well as "true religion ;" 
And, finally, that the only efficient " Preven- 
tive Check " was that supplied by Hope, and in- 
culcated by kindness : for that while a limitation 
to cold potatoes and water, and a cheerless hearth, 

that the " Preventive Check" is a direct inspiration of the Father 
of lies, — of him whose grand occupation and delight it is, to 
render earth a foretaste of hell. 

Neither is this miserable nostrum a whit more rational than it 
is Christian-like. As an expedient to " keep down population " 
it is a sheer absurdity; setting at nought all experience. It as- 
sumes that whatever offers to the poor any aid or comfort, 
" tends to " increase population ; " and that only the dread or 
the actua infliction of starvation, can "keep down their num- 
bers !" And this in the face of facts which present themselves 
hourly of the following kind : — 

In the Times of Jan. 7, 1842, we observe a report of an in- 
quest held on Charlotte Walters, the wife of a poor Bethnal- 
Green weaver, — whose days had been passed in the greatest want 
and misery. She had been frequently in the deepest distress ; 
without food or firing ; and begging a few half-pence to preserve 
life. Yet she died at the age of 31, three weeks after being 
confined of her twelfth child ; and the medical attendant attributed 
her death to constant child-bearing. 

And while this perfectly agrees with what is always going 
on in Ireland, and wherever there is a particularly poor popula- 
tion ; we find in the English peerage no fewer than eleven dukes, 
who have among them only nine children ! 

Yet it is a fundamental maxim with the " Political Econo- 
mists," that men always " breed up to the level of food ; " and 
that to give food is to encourage the growth of a surplus popu- 
lation ! 



SUMMARY OF HTS SYSTEM. 611 

has often taught, and is daily teaching to multi- 
tudes, Despair and utter recklessness ; the best 
means of inculcating prudence and forethought, 
have ever been, the actual experience of Comfort, 
and the prospect of Advancement. 

From these main and governing principles, he 
then proceeded to deduce the following practical 
propositions : — 

1. That the indigent poor of Ireland should 
no longer be excluded from the pale of hu- 
manity ; but should be acknowledged to be as 
justly entitled to relief in periods of want and 
destitution, as the same class among the people 
of England. 

2. That the Legislature should next take 
cognizance of the depressed and demoralized 
state of many of the agricultural poor of 
England. Most of the wrongs under which 
they were suffering had been inflicted by 
Acts of Parliament, — taking from them their 
commons, and continually patching and altering 
their original charter, of the 43d of Elizabeth, 
so as reduce them, step by step, to some still 
lower and more degraded state. The remedy 
was equally within the powers of Parliament. 
It could enact that cottages should be raised, 
sufficient to lodge the labouring poor; and that 
plots of garden- ground should be set apart for 

2 R 2 



612 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

them. All this was quite feasible, without any 
violent stretch of power ; and it was not only 
feasible, but necessary, if the agricultural poor 
were to be raised out of their present state of 
suffering and despair. 

3. That the inordinate spirit of competition, 

exhibited by the great manufacturers, should 

be checked, in so far as it trampled down, not 

only the adult but the youthful labourer, and 

even the tender and defenceless child : that the 

most obvious dictates of humanity, and also the 

suggestions of a sound policy, demanded that 

the day's labour of children and young persons 

in factories should be limited to ten hours. 

These were his three main propositions in 

Parliament ; and it is sufficiently clear that, as 

they embraced in their operation the great bulk of 

the British people, he could scarcely have added 

any others of like importance. 

His fertile mind, however, was stored with va- 
rious schemes for the improvement of the condition 
of the people ; and, whether in propounding plans 
himself, or in supporting or opposing those of 
others, his one object, his ceaseless aim and 
endeavour, was, to raise and comfort and benefit 
the poor. 

On this ground he gave his most determined 
opposition to the Anatomy Bill of Mr. Warburton ; 



SUMMARY OF HIS SYSTEM. 613 

well knowing that it would tend, as the fact has 
since proved, to repel the poor both from hospitals 
and workhouses ; and to induce them rather to die 
among their friends, of want and disease, than to 
go where, after death, their bodies would be cut 
into fragments for the amusement of juvenile stu- 
dents of surgery. 

On this ground he looked with jealousy at the 
advance of the Free Trade system ; well knowing 
that its ultimate tendency was, to bring the English 
labourer into direct competition with the continen- 
tal workman ; and thus, as the latter generally fared 
harder than the Englishman, and lived under 
lighter taxation, it must necessarily follow, in most 
cases, that the British labourer must either be 
thrown out of employment, or else descend to the 
level, or even below the level, of German or Polish 
wages and fare. 

On this ground he felt the greatest disgust at 
several of the leading provisions of the New Poor 
Law ; — not from any irrational attachment to the 
patchwork system which existed prior to 1833; 
but from a conviction that the new measure pro- 
posed to deal with the poor coercively, instead of 
paternally ; aiming to drive them to forethought 
and provident habits by the fear of want, instead 
of drawing them by the inducements of hope, and 
the prospects of advancement. 



614 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

On this ground, lastly, he disapproved of the 
measures adopted to restrict the paper-currency, 
which, up to 1819, and, in a smaller degree, up to 
1829, gave such an impetus to the trade and industry 
of Britain. He discerned at a glance, that the ten- 
dency of such measures of restriction must be still 
further to augment the power of real capital, 
already too great among us ; and to deprive the 
poorer ranks among the middling classes, of those 
means of advancing themselves which they had 
long enjoyed. Had he lived at the present mo- 
ment, he would neither have been found among 
those who absurdly attribute our existing depres- 
sion to the operation of the Corn Laws ; nor 
among those who, with equal irrationality, talk of 
" those occasional fluctuations and seasons of de- 
" pression which must always be looked for in a 
" commercial country." Turning to the appalling 
fact, that the paper-currency of England and 
Wales was, in Oct. 1838, £30,723,962, and on 
Jan. 8, 1842, only £24,813,386, he would have 
here detected the main and sufficient cause of all 
the depression and suffering which now exist ; 
and would have held it to be the duty of the 
Government, to take some means to prevent the 
continuance or recurrence of so fearful an evil. # 

* See Appendix (G.) 



SUMMARY OF HIS SYSTEM. 615 

So much of the past. But it is now almost ten 
years since Mr. Sadler trod the floor of St. Ste- 
phen's Chapel. Shall we not, then, turn for a 
moment to the present position of public affairs, 
and endeavour to apply his principles to the state 
of the nation in our own day ? 

These years, as they have passed, have only 
confirmed and made more certain, the truth of 
Mr. Sadler's principles, and the wisdom of his 
plans. The physicians of the state, forced, how- 
ever reluctantly, to adopt the first of his proposi- 
tions, and to commence, at last, the civilization 
of Ireland, have yet fixedly refused to proceed 
another step in the course which he marked out. 
They have kept England in the evil predicament 
in which he showed her to stand ; or rather, have 
preferred certain nostrums of their own, for pull- 
ing down small workhouses and building large 
ones ; and improving the character and dispositions 
of the poor by shutting up the indigent, — the fathers 
in one workhouse, the mothers in another, the 
girls in a third, the boys in a fourth ! All over 
the realm we see large and costly buildings rising, 
some for the close confinement of paupers, some 
for lunatics, some for criminals ; the proportion of 
the last two classes to the whole population being 
rapidly on the increase. And whence the direful 
necessity for all these expensive receptacles for 



616 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

idle labourers, and broken hearts, and ruined 
characters and souls ? It all arises from one 
shameful cause — the resolute refusal to treat the 
people with kindness and paternal care. 

What is it that Mr. Sadler asked : and that we 
shall continue still to ask ; and must ask, till 
either the realm be saved by doing justice, or lost 
by e< shutting its ear to the cry of the needy ?" 
Was it any new and strange and extravagant 
thing ? It was as far as possible from any such 
folly. It was the plainest, simplest, most prac- 
tical, and most approved by experience, of all 
things. 

It was, that the poor agricultural labourer 
should be permitted to have a cottage to dwell in ; 
instead of being, as at present, crammed, often 
with a wife and five or six children, into a single 
room of some miserable hut. 

It was, that after taking from him his right of 
common, you would restore him a sufficient plot of 
garden-ground; which makes, in most cases, just 
all the difference between hopeless misery and 
comparative comfort. 

It was, that when seduced or driven into the 
manufacturing towns, either by the fallacious pro- 
mises held out by the mill-owner's crimps, or the 
utter hopelessness of his former condition, — his 
offspring, taken from the fresh air of a country 



SUMMARY OF HIS SYSTEM. 617 

village, may not be immured in the heated fac- 
tory, inhaling " cotton-fuz," — for more than ten 
hours a day ! 

Were these extravagant demands ? Are they 
so now ? Is once happy England, and still proud 
and wealthy England, so situated, that she must 
keep all her village labourers on the verge of 
pauperism; all her town-labourers toiling worse 
than slaves ? 

The New Poor Law, — the Sub-Malthusian 
panacea, has now had its full and fair trial. No one 
denies that it has done a certain amount of good ; 
as, indeed, any measure on that subject must have 
done; but will any one venture to affirm that it 
has contented or quieted the country, or restored 
the happy peasantry of times gone by? How 
should it ; — turning, as it did, a hostile face to the 
indigent and oppressed ; and mainly aiming to 
benefit the rate-payers ; those, in fact, who were 
chiefly to blame for all the abuses of the old system? 

This nostrum, then, has failed. Has failed, we 
mean, to quiet and content the people. And 
when we now take up a public journal, of almost 
any politics except servilely ministerial, we are 
sure to be reminded that the great point of all, 
still remaining to be decided, is, " the condition-of- 
England question." 

Nor do those who have so long refused to do 



618 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

justice, and substituted any nostrum or excuse for 
their plain duty, seem to have any other shift left. 
The first session of a new Parliament has just been 
opened ; remarkable, too, for this, that it is the 
first opportunity since the passing of the Reform 
Bill, that the Conservative party has had, for fully 
and fairly disclosing their own policy ; with abun- 
dant power to carry that policy into effect 

The country at large is fully aware of this : 
sick ofwhiggism and of the Whigs, mainly for this 
reason, that they refused to do anything for the 
people, — the great body of electors throughout the 
nation have deliberately and resolvedly given the 
helm to the Conservative leaders. They now wait 
with eagerness and much expectation, to see some 
good result from this important change. 

In one respect they will doubtless be pleased and 
satisfied. There is little doubt that the affairs of 
the nation will be better administered by the pre- 
sent, than by the late cabinet. There will be 
more talent displayed ; more of business-habits 
observable ; and less of recklessness in adopting 
and casting off plans and principles. The finances 
of the country will be brought into a more satis- 
factory state, and divers practical improvements 
will be made in various departments of the law. 

All this is well ; and it would quite suffice, if 
that were true, which seems to be taken for 



SUMMARY OF HIS SYSTEM. 619 

granted, that the condition of the mass of the people 
is already one of comfort and happiness, and one 
needing no improvement. Were this indeed the 
case, then truly a discreet and intelligent adminis- 
tration, — a government which would simply keep 
all things in the same satisfactory course, would 
fully meet the wants and wishes of the nation. 

But, unhappily, this is far from being the case. 
That man must be lamentably ignorant of the real 
state and feelings of the industrious classes of this 
country, who can imagine that the labourers in 
either our villages or our towns are in a state of 
comfort, or a mood of contentment. And who 
will be so foolish as to dream that the country is 
in a safe or wholesome condition, when the mil- 
lions are unhappy and discontented ? 

It was wisely said in our hearing by an intelli- 
gent and most estimable village pastor, " Keep the 
feet warm, and ail will go well with you." It was 
of this question,— of legislation for the poor, — that 
he was speaking. 

We come back, then, to the great topic of this 
volume. The plans of Mr. Sadler were neither 
vague, nor visionary, nor extravagant. Nothing 
more practical, nothing more entirely supported by 
all past experience, could have been offered to the 
public notice. They have every recommendation 
which the cautious and practical statesman ought 



G20 LIFE OF MICHAEL THOMAS SADLER. 

to require ; and further, they have no rivals. No 
other theory now disputes the field. The question 
is, between doing this for the poor, or doing 
nothing ! 

Once more, then, we ask for justice and mercy 
for the poor of England. Denied even a decent 
dwelling; denied the use of even a rood of land; 
driven from the commons ; hunted into the towns ; 
there pent up in noisome cellars, and forced to 
live upon the toil, the death-inflicting toil of their 
children ; we ask for them, their cottages, their 
gardens, a protection from those who would over- 
work or defraud them ; and lastly, a church and a 
pastor of their own. Give them these, and you prac- 
tise the truest economy. Make it possible for the 
peasant to practise the virtue of " providing for his 
own," and you may spare the cost of your spacious 
Union Workhouses. Give him some little frag- 
ment of each day, for mental and religious culti- 
vation, and restore to him his sabbath, now, 
among our factory-labourers, often lost in sleep 
from excessive fatigue, and he will learn some- 
thing of his duty towards God, and his duty 
towards man. To aid him in this, take care to 
supply your six millions of additional population 
with churches and pastors. Do this, and to your 
first saving you may add a large proportion of 
the Jails and Lunatic Asylums, which an ill-used, 



SUMMARY OF HIS SYSTEM. 621 

discontented, ignorant, and irreligious population 
now render absolutely necessary. 

In short, deal paternally with your people, and 
they will repay your care. Feel for them ; supply 
those wants which they cannot supply for them- 
selves ; guard them from the oppression of those 
who would " make haste to be rich ;" and you will 
reap an abundant harvest of internal strength and 
permanent tranquillity. Such was the constant 
object of all the schemes and all the labours, and 
and such would be the result of following in the 
footsteps, of Michael Thomas Sadler. 



APPENDIX. 



Note A. p. 2. 

That a tradition had always existed in the family, handed 
down by the father and grandfather of Mr. Michael Thomas 
Sadler, of a direct descent from the famous Sir Ralph 
Sadler, the favourite minister of Henry VIII. and Eliza- 
beth, we have ascertained from the oldest members of the 
family now living, themselves senior to Mr. M. T. S. by 
many years. This tradition ran thus, — " that their des- 
" cent was from Sir Ralph Sadler : that their name w r as 
" properly spelled Sadlier : and that they came out of 
" Warwickshire.'" 

There was, unquestionably, a degree of internal evi- 
dence in the mere existence of such a tradition ; for it 
hardly appears likely that an obscure country gentleman 
in Derbyshire, in the middle of the last century, should 
even know of the existence of such a person as Sir 
Ralph Sadler ; much less that he should invent details 
as to the spelling of the name, and the settlement of a 
part of his family ; both of which prove, when examined, 
to be strongly corroborative of the tradition. 

Still, it appeared desirable, if possible, to discover 
whether any further evidence was accessible, in proof or 
disproof, of the allegation. As no records were extant 
in the family as to their location in Warwickshire, or re- 
moval from it, it became necessary to begin at the upper 



624 APPENDIX. 

end of the genealogy, to see what degree of probability 
might be found to exist, in that direction. 

At the first glance, a reference to Warwickshire seemed 
to furnish evidence in the negative ; for of all the great 
possessions of Sir Ralph, who was reputed " the richest 
commoner in England," scarcely anything was held by him, 
at the time of his death, in Warwickshire ; and his three 
sons were settled, — the eldest, Thomas, at Standon lord- 
ship in Hertfordshire ; the second, Edward, at Temple 
Dinsley, Herts, and Aspley Guise in Bedfordshire ; and 
the third, Henry, at Everley in Wilts, and Hungerford 
Lodge, Berkshire. 

A little further search, however, turned this apparent 
inconsistency into a confirmation of the claim. In Clifford's 
Sadler Papers, Vol. II. p. 612, edited by Sir Walter 
Scott in 1809, a note presented itself, to the effect that 
there were " three families, descendants of Sir Ralph 
" Sadlier, one of which is settled at Aspley Guise ; one in 
" Warwickshire ; and the third in Hampshire." 

Proceeding a little further, we found in Berry's Ency- 
clopedia Heraldica, the following notice : — 

" Sadler, or Sadlier, [Temple Dinsley, Standon, 
" and Sopwell, Hertfordshire, and Phillingley, Warwick- 
" shire"] or, a lion, rampant, per fesse, az. and gu. Borne 
" by Sir Ralph Sadlier, Kn. Bann. temp. Q. Eliz." 

Here, then, a positive location of some descendants of 
Sir Ralph in Warwickshire, was asserted. And on search- 
ing the parish registers of Phillongley, divers entries appear 
of a family whose name is always carefully spelt " Sadlier," 
and who are styled " gent," or " armig." 

Further, we may add, that some of these entries agree 
very well with other entries in the registers of Aspley 
Guise ; at which place the family of Edward, the second 



APPENDIX. 625 

son of Sir Ralph, was settled. The grandson of Edward — 
Thomas Leigh Sadlier, had twenty-four children ; only 
thirteen of whom appear on record in the Heralds' Col- 
lege ; or are mentioned by any of the various writers who 
have traced the descendants of the great Sir Ralph. One of 
these, — " John Sadlier," was baptized on the 30th of April, 
1638, and of him we find, at Apsley Guise, no further 
trace. But at Phillongley in Warwickshire, about sixty- 
nine years afterwards, we find a " John Sadlier, gent," 
among the burials. 

It becomes, therefore, a matter of some probability, 
that a portion of this large family became settled at Phil- 
longley, (as Berry in his Encyclopedia Heraldica distinctly 
asserts it did,) and when we find, sixty or eighty years after, 
persons in a neighbouring county, Derbyshire, who cherish 
the tradition, that their name is properly Sadlier, — that 
their descent is from Sir Ralph, — and that they had 
migrated from Warwickshire, we must at least admit, that 
there is both probability and consistency in the claim. 



2 S 



626 APPENDIX. 



Note B. p. 166. 

The main fact relied on by Mr. Malthus, and upon 
which his whole system is founded, is this, — that the human 
race increases in a geometrical ratio ; or from 2 to 4, from 
4 to 8, from 8 to 16, and upwards, without any other 
hindrances than those caused by vice or misery, or by 
" the Preventive Check." 

The position taken by Mr. Sadler, and upon which his 
whole system is founded, is, — that the human race does not 
increase in this regular geometrical ratio ; but in a ratio 
perpetually diminishing, according to the increasing den- 
sity of the population. 

In support of his view, Mr Sadler adduced — 

1. The table of the English counties, which is given at 
page 163 of the present volume. 

2. A table, occupying six pages, of the departments of 
France ; the general result of which is as follows : — ■ 

In the two departments having from four to five hectares to 

each inhabitant, there were, to 1000 marriages, births 5 130 

In the three departments in which there were from three to 
four hectares to each inhabitant, there were, to each 1000 
marriages, births ...... 4372 

In the thirty departments having from two to three hec- 
tares to each inhabitant, to each 1000 marriages, there 
were, of births . . . . . .4250 

In the forty-four departments in which there were between 
one and two hectares to each inhabitant, there were, to 
each 1000 marriages, births .... 4234 

In the five departments in which there were less than one 
hectare to each inhabitant, to each 1000 marriages, the 
births were . . . . . .4 146 

In the metropolitan department, there were, to every 

1000 marriages, births ..... 2557 



APPENDIX. 



627 



S. Various tables of the population of Prussia, shewing 
the following results : 

That in two provinces having less than 1000 inhabitants to 

the square mile, (Germ.) the births to 100 marriages were 503 
That in four provinces having from 1000 to 2000, the births 

to 100 marriages were . . . . .454 

That in six provinces having from 2000 to 3000, the births 

to 100 marriages were . . . . ■ . 426 

That in two provinces having from 3000 to 4000, the births 

to 100 marriages were ..... 394 



Again, testing the fact by the increase of population 
between 1820 and 1827, he found 



per cent. 



That where the inhabitants on the square German mile 

were less than 1 500, the annual increase had been . 1 
From 1500 to 2000 . . . . . 1 



2000 to 2500 
2500 to 3000 
3000 to 4000 
4000. to 5000 
5000 and upwards 



912 
675 
1 . 524 
1.304 
1 . 299 
1.299 
1.114 



4. The census of Ireland ; the results of which we have 
given at p. 179 ; and 

5. That of the United States ; which is noticed at p. 180. 

6. The kingdom of the Netherlands furnished the fol- 



lowing results 



Three provinces having less than 50 inhabitants to 100 hec- 
tares, mean increase on six years . . . . 0793 
Eight provinces having from 50 to 100 inhabitants to 100 

hectares, mean increase ! . . . - . 0663 

Three provinces having from 100 to 150 . . . . 0646 

Four provinces having from 150 to 200 . . . . 0627 

One province having 200 and upwards . . . . 0510 

2 S 2 



628 APPENDIX. 

7. Passing over a variety of other tables, containing 
many incidental and collateral proofs, we give next a re- 
markable one, exhibiting the diminishing fecundity of 
marriages in England, as its population has increased: 



Periods. 

1680 


Population. 

5,500,000 


Births to a Marriage. 

4.65 


1730 


5,800,000 


4.25 


1770 


7,500,000 


3.61 


1790 


8,700,000 


3.59 



1805 10,678,500 3.50 

The above are some of the chief cases adduced in his 
main work. In his reply to the Edinburgh Reviewer, he 
added the results of several further censuses which had 
reached him in the interim. Such as, 

8. That of Russia, of 1825, which shewed, 

Sixteen provinces having less than 50 inhabitants to the 

square mile ; in which the births to 100 marriages were 489 

Sixteen provinces in which there were from 50 to 100 on the 

square mile, and the births to 100 marriages were . 480 

Four provinces having from 100 to 150 on the square mile, 

and the births to 100 marriages were . . .461 

9. That of Naples, where the annual increase, per cent, 
was as follows : 

In one province having less than 100 on the square mile . 0142 

In six provinces having from 100 to 200 . . . . 0140 

In three provinces having from 200 to 300 . . . 0137 

In three provinces having from 300 to 400 . . . 0100 

In one province, the capital . . . . . 0071 

10. That of Denmark, 1828 ; which was as follows : 

In one diocese, having less than 50 on the square mile, the 

baptisms to 100 marriages were . . . .441 

In two dioceses having from 50 to 75 . . . 402 



APPENDIX. 629 

In two dioceses having from 75 to 100 . . 395 

In three dioceses having- 100 and upwards . . 391 

In one diocese, the capital .... 372 

11. And lastly, Austrian Lombardy, which presented 
the following facts : 

One delegation, having less than 100 inhabitants on the 

square mile ; in which to 100 marriages, the births were 532 

One delegation, having from 200 to 250, the births . 518 

Four delegations, having from 250 to 300, the births . 499 

Three delegations, having 400 and upwards, the births . 449 

We have selected these eleven instances, from a mass of 
more than one hundred ; because they are sufficient, and 
because to give more would encumber our few remaining 
pages. These tables embrace a grand total of more than 
150 millions of the civilized nations of the earth. They 
were taken without selection ; in fact, nothing could ex- 
ceed the avidity with which Mr. Sadler seized upon any 
fresh tables or returns of censuses, which fell in his way, 
or the delight with which he instantly analyzed their con- 
tents. Most readily would he have admitted any returns 
which might have appeared inconsistent with his theory, 
and would have laid them before the public, with such ex- 
planations as he might have been able to offer. But never 
was he thus tried. Never once did a return, no matter 
from what part of the world, fail to contribute its quota of 
proof to the main argument — fail to show that Mr. Mal- 
thus, in his geometric ratio of increase, had propounded a 
fiction only worthy to rank with the astronomical inventions 
of Tycho Brahe ; or that the fact, first asserted by Mr. Sad- 
ler, was universally true, that the ratio of increase in 
every population, varied with the density of that popula- 
tion. 



630 APPENDIX. 



Note C. p. 189. 

The mean and paltry sort of manoeuvering by which 
the appearance of an answer to Mr. Sadler's arguments was 
got up in the Edinburgh Review, can only be made intel- 
ligible by the actual production of an instance. We are 
compelled, therefore, to trouble our readers with a 
specimen. 

It is well known, that in all fair and honest statistical 
accounts, the practice is to proceed by regular periods or 
divisions ; usually lustral or decennial. A census is made 
up thus, in distinguishing ages, from 1 to 5, 5 to 10, 10 
to 15, and so forth. If the progress of any population is to 
be examined, we proceed in like manner, from 1801 to 
1810, 1811 to 1820, 1821 to 1830, &c. And if we found 
any theorizer varying from this universal practice, and 
offering us unequal and arbitrary divisions, as from 1 to 6, 
7 to 13, 14 to 23, and so forth, we should immediately 
suspect him of " packing the cards." 

Now Mr. Sadler, throughout his work, invariably sub- 
mits to the fair and admitted practice. In all cases he 
applies a regular and fixed gradation of scale, and is con- 
tent to let his system abide this test. 

The reply of the Edinburgh Reviewer on the other 
hand, wholly depends upon an evasion of this fair test, and 
a recourse to the system of " packing." And yet, as 
many a dishonest person had done before him, he is very 
ready to be the first to cry " stop thief," and to accuse 
Mr. Sadler of that very " packing," to which he himself, 
and he alone, had just had recourse. We will now give 
an instance, which we select chiefly because the Reviewer 
himself declares it to be the most "decisive" of all. We 
will give his own argument in his own words. 



APPENDIX. 



631 



" But we will make another experiment on Mr. Sadler's tables, if 
possible more decisive than any of those which we have hitherto 
made. We will take the fonr largest divisions into which he has dis- 
tributed the English counties, and which follow each other in regular 
order. That our readers may fully comprehend the nature of that 
packing by which his theory is supported, we will set before them 
this part of his table. 



a ci 


a 


a , 


. S . 


g 


<*. © 


COUNTIES. 


°-3 

Si P. 

= = 


.2 


si 

o ^ 


3 K ~ 
|.2o 


IK 


° 2 g 

§5 i 




a. a 


o 
a. 






CQ 


1*" 


Lincoln 


105 


288,800 


2748 


20,892 


87,620 




Cumberland 






107 


159,300 


1478 


10,299 


45,08o 




Northumberland 






108 


203,000 


1871 


12,997 


45,871 




Hereford 






122 


105,300 


860 


6,202 


27,909 




Rutland 






127 


18,900 


149 


1,286 


5,125 




Huntingdon 






134 


49,800 


370 


3,766 


13,633 




Cambridge . 






145 


124,400 


858 


9,894 


37,491 




Monmouth . 






145 


72,300 


498 


4,586 


13,411 




Dorset 






146 


147,400 


1005 


9,554 


39,060 




From 100 to 150. 


79,476 


315,205 


396 


York, East Riding 


151 


194,300 


1280 


15,313 


55,606 




Salop . 




156 


210,300 


1341 


13,613 


58,542 




Sussex 




162 


237,700 


1463 


15,779 


68,700 




Northampton 




163 


165,800 


1017 


12,346 


42,336 




WUts . 




164 


226,600 


1379 


15,654 


58,845 




Norfolk 




168 


351,300 


2092 


25,752 


102,259 




Devon 




173 


447,900 


2579 


35,264 


130,758 




Southampton 




177 


289,000 


1628 


24,561 


88,170 




Berks . 




178 


134,700 


756 


9,301 


38,841 




Suffolk 




182 


276,000 


1512 


19,885 


76,327 




Bedford 




184 


85,400 


463 


6,536 


22,871 




Buckingham 




185 


136,800 


740 


9,505 


37.158 




Oxford 




186 


139,800 


752 


9,131 


39,633 




Essex . 




193 


295,300 


1532 


19,726 


79,792 




Cornwall 




198 


262,600 


1327 


17,363 


74,611 




Durham 




199 


211,900 


1061 


14,787 


58,222 




From 150 to 200. 


264,516 


1,033,039 


390 


Derby .... 


212 


217,600 


1026 


14,226 


58,804 




Somerset 


220 


362,500 


1642 


4,356 


95,802 




Leicester 


221 


178,100 


804 


13,366 


47,013 




Nottingham 


228 


190,700 


837 


14,296 


55.517 




From 200 to 250. 


66,244 


257,136 


388 


Hertford 


251 


132,400 


528 


7,386 


35,741 




Worcester . 




258 188,200 


729 


13,178 


53,138 




Chester 




262 


275,500 


1052 


20,305 


75,012 




Gloucester . 




272 


342,600 


1256 


28,884 


90,671 




Kent .... 




282 


434,600 


1537 


33,502 


135,060 




From 250 to 300. 


103,255 


390,322! 


378 



632 APPENDIX. 

" These averages look well, undoubtedly, for Mr. Sadler's theory. 
The numbers 396, 390, 388, 378, follow each other very speciously 
in a descending order. But let our readers divide these thirty-four 
counties into two equal sets of seventeen counties each, and try 
whether the principle will then hold good. We have made this cal- 
culation, and we present them with the following result : 

The number of children to 100 marriages is— 

In the seventeen counties of England in which there are from 

100 to 177 people on the square mile . . . 387 

In the seventeen counties in which there are from 177 to 282 

people on the square mile ..... 389 

" The difference is small, but not smaller than differences which 
Mr. Sadler has brought forward as proofs of his theory. We say, 
that these English tables no more prove that fecundity increases with 
the population, than that it diminishes with the population." 

And very soon after, this same honest Reviewer adds, 

" We have nothing more to examine, the tables we have scruti- 
nized, constitute the whole strength of Mr. Sadler's case. 

Any ordinary reader would of course take for granted,— 
not having Mr. Sadler's work within reach,— that he had 
here a fair specimen of one, at least, of Mr. Sadler's 
proofs ; and, that that proof might be so easily made to 
assume another aspect, as to be really worth little or 
nothing. But would any such reader imagine, that the 
table in question, as it stood in Mr. Sadler's work, was as 
follows ;— 





Ar 


rjuvu-uv 










COUNTIES. 


.2 g 


.5 
o . 
11 


.5 

3! 


Number of 
Marriages from 
1810 to 1820. 


nber of 
sms from 
to 1820. 


ortion of 
s to 100 
riages. 




c3 cS 

If 


P-l 

o 
Oh 




Nui 
Bapti 
1810 


Prop 
Birth 
Mar 


Westmoreland 


68 


52,400 


763 


3,385 


14,888 




York, North Riding 


91 


187,400 


2048 


12,422 


51,546 




Under 100 on a sq. mile 


15,807 


66,434 


420 


Lincoln .... 


105 


288,800 


2748 


20,892 


87,620 




Cumberland . 


107 


159,300 


1478 


10,299 


45,085 




Northumberland . 


103 


203,000 


1871 


12,997 


45,871 




Hereford 


122 


105,300 


860 


6,202 


27,909 




Rutland 


127 


18,900 


149 


1,286 


5,125 




Huntingdon . 
Cambridge 


134 


49,800 


370 


3,766 


13,633 




145 


124,400 


858 


9,394 


37,491 




Monmouth 


145 


72,300 


498 


4,586 


13,411 




Dorset .... 


146 


147,400 


1005 


9,554 


39,060 




From 100 to 150. 


79,476 


315,205 


396 


York, East Riding . 


151 


194,300 


1280 


15.313 


55,606 




Salop .... 


156 


210,300 


1341 


13,613 


58,542 




Sussex .... 


162 


237,700 


1463 


15,779 


68,700 




Northampton 


163 


165,800 


1017 


12,346 


42,336 




Wilts .... 


164 


226,600 


1379 


15,654 


58,845 




Norfolk .... 


168 


351,300 


2092 


25,752 


102,259 




Devon .... 


173 


447,900 


2579 


35,264 


130,758 




Southampton 


177 


289,000 


1628 


24,561 


88,170 




Berks .... 


178 


134,700 


756 


9,301 


38,841 




Suffolk .... 


182 


276,000 


1512 


19,885 


76,327 




Bedford .... 


184 


85,400 


463 


6,536 


22,871 




Buckingham . 


185 


136,800 


740 


9,505 


37,158 




Oxford .... 


186 


139,800 


752 


9,131 


39,633 




Essex .... 


1.93 


295,300 


1532 


19,726 


79,792 




Cornwall 


198 


262,600 


1327 


17,363 


74,611 




Durham 


199 


211,900 


1061 


14,787 


58,222 




From 150 to 200. 


264,516 


1,033,039 


390 


Derby .... 


212 


217,600 


1026 


14,226 


58,804 




Somerset 


220 


362,500 


1642 


24,356 


95,802 




Leicester 


221 


178,100 


804 


13,366 


47,013 




Nottingham . 


228 


190,700 


837 


14,296 


55,517 




From 200 to 250. 


66,244 


257,136 


388 


Hertford 


251 


132,400 


528 


7,386 


35,741 




Worcester 


258 


188,200 


729 


13,178 


53.138 




Chester .... 


262 


275,500 


1052 


20,305 


7^012 




Gloucester 


272 


342,600 


1256 


28,884 


90,671 




Kent .... 


282 


434,600 


1537 


33,502 


135,060 




From 250 to 300. 


103,255 


390,322 


378 


Stafford 


303 


347,900 


1148 


27,093 


105,657 




York, West Riding 


309 


815,400 


2633 


62,062 


215,061 




Warwick 


310 


280,000 


902 


22,786 


74,352 




From 300 to 350. 


111,941 


395,070 


353 


Surrey .... 


536 


406,700 


758 


27,450 


98,592 




Lancaster 


585 


1,074,000 


1831 


85,318 


274,550 




From 500 to 600. 


112,768 


373,142 


331 


Middlesex 


4140 


l,167,50o( 289 


109,475 


269,765 


246 



634 APPENDIX. 

So that out of eight regular and just divisions, this 
honest critic had taken the liberty to drop just four, 
taking up only those four which suited his purpose, and 
"packing" them just in that mode which answered his 
end, 100 to 177, 177 to 282; a mode which, as we have 
already observed, at once bespeaks the adroitness, but not 
the honesty of the person who has recourse to it. 

The general results of all the counties of England were 
as follows : — 



In the counties having less than 100 on a mile, there are 

to 100 marriages, births . 
In the counties having from 100 to 150, 
In the counties having from 150 to 200, 
In the counties having from 200 to 250, 
In the counties having from 250 to 300, 
In the counties having from 300 to 350 on a mile, 
In the counties having from 500 to 600 on a mile, 
In the metropolitan county, 



420 
393 
390 
388 
378 
353 
331 
246 



In what way did the Reviewer meet or reply to this 
striking and conclusive fact ? In no other way than the 
above, by first garbling the return, professing to give the 
" whole strength " of it, while he purposely omitted one 
half, and then " packing " the rest so as to answer his 
end! 

In the very same trickery and disingenuous mode did he 
deal with two other out of Mr. Sadler's 150 tables, those 
of France and Prussia ; and then coolly added, " We 
have nothing more to examine : the tables we have scruti- 
nized, constitute the whole strength of Mr. Sadler's case." 

The fact being, however, that if these three tables, and 
twenty others, had been torn to atoms, there would still 
have remained a basis of facts sufficient to have established 
Mr. Sadler's system twenty times over. 



APPENDIX. 6S5 



Note D. p. 296. 

The following facts relating to the alleged " improvi- 
dent marriages " of the labouring poor, were given in Mr. 
Sadler's speech on the state of the agricultural labourers. 
There never, perhaps, was a more remarkable instance of 
a " vulgar error," having been adopted and asserted, as 
indubitable truth, by a long series of would-be philosophers 
and economists. 

" The official record before me, (the Report of the Se- 
lect Committee on Labourers' wages :) which, as I before 
mentioned, fully recognizes the miserable condition of the 
poor, assigning for it as a reason the supposed malversation 
of the poor laws, goes on to state, as the consequence, 
" that thereby a surplus population is encouraged — men 
know they have only to marry." Aware that these notions 
are almost universally prevalent ; that they are taken as 
so many truisms and repeated as such ; that they embody 
the notions of the political economists on this subject, who, 
however widely they may differ, and however warmly they 
may disagree, are, nevertheless, on this topic, unanimous : 
and, being perfectly aware, also, that any general attempt 
to better the condition of the agricultural poor, if these 
positions were true, would not only be entirely fruitless, 
but even pernicious, in its ultimate consequences ; it is 
necessary, before I proceed, to examine these confident 
assertions ; and I pledge myself to this House to overthrow 
the whole of them, and exhibit them, as they in reality 
are, a set of the most egregious errors that ever darkened 
the understanding, or deadened the heart of man. I shall 
do this, not by reasoning, but by arithmetic, by matters of 



636 APPENDIX. 

fact ; not by the selection of certain instances to serve my 
purpose, but by taking those selected by the Committee, 
doubtless, with a view of advancing its own. It is asserted, 
then, in this report, that the counties of Northumberland, 
Cumberland and Lincoln, are nearly, if not totally, exempt 
from the malversation of the Poor Laws, which produce, 
according to its authority, these numerous marriages, and 
this increase of surplus population. The counties, on the 
other hand, where that malversation is stated to be most 
general, and where consequently the plague of marriage 
and population most prevails, are particularised. They 
are these — Suffolk, Sussex, Bedfordshire, Buckingham- 
shire, Dorsetshire, and Wiltshire. Now, Sir, there were 
celebrated during the ten years preceding the date of the 
last censiis, in the counties of Northumberland, Cumber- 
land, and Lincoln, 45,288 marriages ; the arithmetical 
mean of the population being in that term 606,600, or 
rather more than one annual wedding to every 133 of the 
inhabitants. But in the six counties in which it is said we 
are to look for a great excess of marriages, there were 
during the same term, on a mean population of 1,046,350 
souls, 76,949 marriages, or one annual marriage in 136 only. 
Yet this comparison, though it decides the dispute, does 
not give the real truth in its just proportions ; the practice 
of so many marriages in the border counties of Northum- 
berland and Cumberland being celebrated across the boun- 
daries — a fact which Mr. Bickman has mentioned in those 
censuses, (which are in every point of view an honour to 
the country as well as to his industry and talents,) as 
greatly diminishing the registered proportion of such mar- 
riages. To arrive, therefore, at a more just comparison, 
let us take, for instance, the county of Lincoln, which is 
stated to be free from the evils in question, and that of 
Dorset, which is particularised as one of those in which 



APPENDIX. 637 

they are the most prevalent and oppressive, each of which, 
on the authority of an intelligent and humane witness who 
had resided in both, and deserves to be thus selected. 
Well, Sir, the marriages in Lincolnshire, computed as 
before, had for the preceding ten years been rather more 
than one in 128, while in Dorset the proportion was not 
as much as one in 144; so groundless, then, so entirely 
opposed to facts, are the allegations of this report. But I 
will place the matter in another and yet stronger light, by 
presenting facts, still authentic and official, of such a cha- 
racter as defy all contradiction or evasion, and which will 
dispose at once and for ever of the stale and senseless accu- 
sations against the poor of these counties. The report 
says that the misery it describes is " in great part to be 
attributed to the mal-administration of the Poor Laws 
during the latter years of the late war." Let us examine 
the facts in this case also. Taking then the whole period 
of its duration, namely, that from 1803 to 1813, including 
and dividing it into two equal parts of five years each, 
giving half the intermediate year 1808 to each, we shall 
find that the number of marriages in Suffolk, Sussex, Bed- 
fordshire, Buckinghamshire, Dorsetshire, and Wiltshire, 
was 39,315 in the former half, while in the latter it 
amounted to 37,417 only. But the number of marriages 
in the three counties which the Committee pronounce to 
be free from these malversations advanced during the same 
period from 22,081 to 23,227. If we take a still wider 
range we shall find similar results. Taking the average 
of the first two years of the late war (in order to avoid the 
casual fluctuations which might affect single ones,) viz. 
the years 1803 and 1804, we find that the weddings 
amounted to 7836. I have already stated how much the 
marriages fell off in the latter period ; in fact, in 1812 and 
1813, the average number was 6774 only. But when we 



6S8 APPENDIX. 

extend the inquiry by a reference to the forthcoming- 
census (which I have already diligently examined for this 
purpose,) to the years immediately preceding the dates of 
this report, viz. 1822 and 1823, the average number of 
marriages in these two years will be found to be 7,767 ; 
consequently less than it had been nearly twenty years 
before ; and that of the terminating years, 1829 and 1830, 
will exhibit, I think, the same average as compared 
with the first — still almost precisely stationary, though 
they ought to have advanced to upwards of 10,000, without 
showing any relative increase ; the population of these 
counties (exclusive of Brighton, throughout the whole 
calculation) during these twenty-eight years, having in- 
creased upwards of 30 per cent. So entirely opposed to 
truth, therefore, are the assumptions of our economists 
regarding the habits and condition of our labouring poor, 
and so greatly do they err as to the means of remedy." 



Note E. p. 327. 

Communications to the Board of Agriculture, on subjects 
relative to the Husbandry and Internal Improvement of 
the Country. London : 1797. Part. ii. pp. 77 — 84. 

V. — Letter from the Earl of Winchelsea, to the presi- 
dent of the Board of Agriculture, on the advantages of 
cottagers renting land.* 

* This very valuable paper was drawn up at the request of the 
President of the Board of Agriculture, in consequence of a conversa- 
tion which passed at the Farmers' Club ; when the Earl of Win- 
chelsea stated that the custom of letting small portions of land to 
labourers, which prevailed in parts of Rutlandshire, was found to be 
of great utility. Sir John Sinclair then desired that Lord Winchel- 
sea would inform him of all the particulars he was acquainted with, 



APPENDIX. 639 



South Street, January 4, 1796. 
Sir, 

At your request, I made what enquiries I could, during 
the short time I was in the country, as to the situation of 
labourers renting small quantities of land ; and am more 
and more confirmed in the opinion I have long had, that 
nothing is so beneficial, both to them and to the land-owners, 
as their having land to be occupied either for the keeping 
of cows, or as gardens, according to circumstances. 

By means of these advantages, the labourers and their 
families live better, and are consequently more fit to en- 
dure labour ; it makes them more contented and more 
attached to their situation, and it gives them a sort of in- 
dependence, which makes them set a higher value upon 
their character. In the neighbourhood in which I live, 
men so circumstanced, are almost always considered as the 
most to be depended upon and trusted ; the possessing a 
little property certainly gives a spur to industry : as a proof 
of this, it has almost always happened to me, that when a 
labourer has obtained a cow and land sufficient to main- 
tain her, the first thing he has thought of has been, how 
he could save money enough to buy another ; and I have 
almost always had applications for more land from those 
people so circumstanced. There are several labourers in 
my neighbourhood, who have got on in this manner, till 
they now keep two, three, and some four cows, and yet 
are amongst the hardest working men in the country, and 
the best labourers. I believe there are from seventy to 
eighty labourers upon my estate in Rutland, who keep 
from one to four cows each ; and I have always heard that 

respecting that custom ; which being read at the Board of Agricul- 
ture, and much approved of, was ordered to be printed. 



640 



APPENDIX. 



they are hard-working industrious men ; they manage their 
land well, and always pay their rent. 

With regard to the profit they make of a cow, I am 
informed that those who manage well, will clear about 
twenty-pence a week, or £4. 6s. 8d. per annum by each 
cow, supposing the rent of the land, levies, expences of 
hay-making, &c, to cost them £4., exclusive of house- 
rent ; this is calculated, supposing all the produce sold ; 
but whether this is too low, or how it is, I cannot say ; 
but certainly those who have a cow, appear to be (in com- 
parison with those who have none,) much more than 
twenty-pence per week richer : it may be owing to the 
superior industry of those families. I must observe, that 
they keep sheep during the winter upon their cow-pasture, 
at the rate of two, and in some cases three, at 2s. 6d. 
each, for each cow-pasture. This is included in the above 
estimate of profit : the skim-milk is also valued. Some of 
them, where the land is not good, do not pay so much. 
I put down £4, supposing the land tolerably good, and it 
is certainly more advantageous to them to occupy good 
land at a high rent, than poor land at a low one. They 
all agree, that two cows are more than twice as profitable 
as one, particularly when the suckling of calves is the sys- 
tem pursued. The generality of the people near me suckle 
calves ; some make butter, and a few make cheese ; some 
buy the supernumerary lambs of the farmers, and rear 
them up by hand ; and where they have more than one or 
two cow-gaits, stock with sheep at the rate, in summer, of 
three for a cow-gait. Those who have families, and one cow, 
generally make butter, for the sake of having skim-milk for 
their children, which is an article rarely to be obtained by 
the poor. When a labourer has the offer of a cow-gait, 
and land for winter provision, and has not money enough 
to purchase a cow, he generally applies to his employer, 



APPENDIX. 641 

who will in all probability advance him some money ; and 
the inhabitants of the parish, if the man has a good 
character, frequently subscribe to set him up, from chari- 
table motives, and from a persuasion that by this means 
his family will never want relief from the parish : and this 
is so much the case, that when a labourer dies, and his 
son takes his land and stock, he in some cases maintains 
the widow. I know of several instances of labourer's 
widows who are past work, who are maintained by their 
sons, who could not otherwise have lived, without parish 
relief. In a village near me, where there are a great 
number of labourers who keep cows, the poor's rate is not 
at this time above sixpence in the pound ; the number of 
inhabitants 335. 

When a poor man's cow dies, it is certainly a great 
distress, and sometimes the owner is obliged to ask assist- 
ance to replace her, and somehow or other, they always 
contrive to get one ; as I scarcely ever knew a cow-gait 
given up for want of ability to obtain a cow, except in the 
case of old and infirm women, who are left without chil- 
dren : they (unless they have some assistance from the 
parish,) cannot live upon the profits of a cow, nor can 
they manage it properly. Should a case of this sort occur, 
the parish officers would act very unwisely in refusing as- 
sistance ; as a very trifling allowance, together with the cow, 
would enable the woman to live ; whereas by refusing any 
assistance, they oblige the woman to part with her cow, 
and then she must have her whole subsistence from them. 
I applied to Mr. Barker of Lyndon, Rutland, for some 
information, with regard to the antiquity of the custom 
in that county, of letting cow-gaits to labourers, and re- 
ceived the following letter from him : — 



2 T 



642 APPENDIX. 

Lyndon, January 14, 1796. 

"My Lord, 

" I have considered your Lordship's question as to the 
labourers keeping cows, and think it is certainly a very 
useful thing for them to do so ; most of the poor people 
of this parish do keep cows, one, or two, or three to a 
family, and a great advantage it is to them ; so that we 
can hardly say there are any industrious persons here who 
are really poor, as they are in some places where they 
have not that advantage. It has been the practice in this 
place, time out of mind. We have a ground called the 
Cottager's Close, wherein the poor, for an easy rent, keep 
eighteen cows, and, I suppose it was laid out for them at 
the inclosure of the lordship in 1624. 

" On that close the cows go from May-day till St. An- 
drew's, and in winter they take them into their home- 
steads ; and while several neighbouring lordships were 
open-field, they could buy hay reasonably to feed them 
with at that season ; and we have several little takes of a 
few pounds a year, rented by cottagers ; and I have made 
some new ones ; for since the enclosure of these parishes, 
hay is grown very dear, and is scarcely to be had at all. 

" 1 believe it always was the custom for every one to 
keep a milch cow, who could raise money enough to buy 
one, and could get keeping for it. I imagine it was so in 
this parish long before it was enclosed. I think there are 
cottagers who have a right of a common in Hambledon 
cow-pasture \ but your Lordship must know that matter 
much better than I can do. There are little estates and 
cottagers who have a right of common in North LufFen- 
ham cow-pasture. There are some persons as Edith Wes- 
ton, who had such before the enclosure, and I believe it 
was the same in other towns also ; but I am sorry to say, 
that I am afraid most of those cottages were taken away 



APPENDIX. 643 

at the time of the several enclosures, and the land thrown 
to the farms ; wherein I think they did very wrong : but 
we have an instance of a new enclosure, where the good 
old custom is still retained ; for Sir John Rushout has made 
a considerable number at Ketton. I believe the cow- 
pasture and ploughing-land to each cottage is four acres. 
I wish, and I have often said so, that Parliament would 
make it a rule never to grant an inclosure, without a close 
laid out for the benefit of the poor. 

" I am, &c, 

" Thomas Barker." 

I can add to this, that upon my own estate, the custom 
is, I believe, of the greatest antiquity : I have labourers, 
tenants, in whose families the lands they now occupy have 
been for near two hundred years ; and they have, as far as 
I can learn, been generally good labourers, and received 
no relief from the parish. I have made several new takes 
of that sort, and have always found them to answer. 

With regard to their manuring their meadow-ground ; 
by keeping their cows in hovel during winter, and by 
keeping a pig or two } w T hich they generally do, they con- 
trive to make manure ; their employer generally sells to 
them, or gives them, a small quantity of straw, and some- 
times they procure fern, or collect weeds. 

The situation of labourers may, I think, be classed as 
follows : — 

1st. Those who have a sufficient quantity of grass in- 
closed land to enable them to keep one or more cows, 
winter and summer, and a garden near their house. 

This is, in my opinion, the best situation for a labourer ; 
as, except the hay- making, the rest of the business is done 
by his wife, and his labour is not interrupted. Where a 
grass-field is allotted to a certain number, and each have 

2 T 2 



644 APPENDIX. 

a field for mowing near their house ; or where there are 
two fields, one grazed, and one mown alternately, and 
properly stinted, it will be as advantageous, or nearly so, as 
having small inclosures to themselves. 

This can only take place in countries where there is an 
abundance of grass-land. 

2ndly. Those who have a summer pasture for their cow, 
and some arable land, upon which they grow the winter 
provision. 

This is not so advantageous as No. 1, because more of 
their time is taken up by the arable land ; however, as 
they must, in order to make any hay, have part of the 
land sown in grass, the labour is so much as to be hurtful 
to them. I have several such upon my estate, which an- 
swer very well. This is adapted to countries where there 
is a mixture of pasture and arable. 

3rdly. Those who have a right of common for the sum- 
mer-keep of the cow, and a meadow or arable ground, or 
a meadow in common, for the winter provision. 

This would be like the two former, were it not that 
nine commons out of ten are so much overstocked, that 
the summer-keep is very bad. This is a very great loss, 
and if the meadow is in common, it is another disadvan- 
tage. It is certain that upon an enclosure, if the owners 
choose it, the labourers who keep cows may be placed in 
a much better situation than they were ; inasmuch as in- 
closed land is more valuable to occupiers of every descrip- 
tion, than commons and open fields. Garden-ground 
may also be allotted to them, and others ; which cannot 
be done while the land remains uninclosed. I am per- 
suaded, that where these things are attended to, very few 
objections to an enclosure will arise on the part of the labour-- 
ers, and that the landowners will have the satisfaction of 
benefiting the poor, and at the same time of making their 



APPENDIX. 645 

own property more valuable, by adopting what, in all 
probability, will be the means of keeping down the poor's 
rate. 

I suppose gardens near the houses to all these : should 
that not be the case, as they have land, they may raise 
garden-stuff; but if their land is at a distance from their 
houses, it is not so advantageous : and if their take is all 
grass, they can find no ground to dig, except, perhaps, 
where a haystack has been placed the preceding year. 

4th. Those who have a right of common, and a garden. 

This is certainly very beneficial to them ; geese and 
pigs may be kept upon the common, and the latter fed with 
the produce of the garden, and a small quantity of pur- 
chased food. 

5th. Those who have a right of common, and no garden. 

This, unless fuel is obtained, is of no great value to 
them : if fuel is obtained, it is of great value, and the loss 
of it is difficult to be made up to them. 

6th. Those who have several acres of arable land, and no 
summer pasturage for a cow. 

This is, I believe, of no sort of use to the labourer ; for, 
though he may cultivate part of the land as a garden, the 
continued labour it would require to stall-feed a cow, win- 
ter and summer, and the quantity of the land he must till, 
would occupy so much of his time, that the take would, 
upon the whole, be injurious to him ; even supposing the 
]and inclosed, and contiguous to his house : if at a distance, 
or not inclosed, the disadvantage would be still greater. I am 
sorry to differ in opinion on this subject from Mr. Barclay,* 
but perhaps in other parts of the island his plan of a take 
entirely arable might answer. I am persuaded it would not 
in the parts I am acquainted with, and that the farmers 

* Robert Barclay, Esq. of Urie, M. P. 



646 APPENDIX. 

would not sell them hay, which is a part of his plan. I 
believe that a summer pasture for the cows is absolutely 
necessary to make it of advantage to the labourers who 
keep them. 

7th. Those who have a garden near their house. 

This is the best thing that can be done for labourers in 
arable countries, and where there are other reasons which 
prevent them from keeping cows.* 

8th. Those who have no land whatever. 

This is a very bad situation for the labourer to be placed 
in, both for his comfort, and for the education of his 
children. When a labourer is possessed of cattle, his 
children are taught early in life the necessity of taking care 
of them, and acquire some knowledge of their treatment ; 
and if he has a garden, they learn to dig and weed, and 
their time is employed in useful industry, by which means 
they are more likely to acquire honest and industrious 
habits, than those who are bred up in the poverty and 
laziness we too often see ; for I believe that it is a fact, 
that extreme poverty begets idleness. 

For these reasons, I am clearly of opinion, that the let. 
ting land to labourers is of great utility both to them, to 
the landowners,, and to the community ; for, though in 
every village some idle people will be found who are not 
fit to be intrusted with, or capable of receiving benefit 

* As land cultivated as a garden will produce a greater quantity 
of food for man than in any other way, and as four-fifths of the la- 
bour bestowed upon their gardens will be done by the labourers at 
extra hours, and when they and their children would otherwise be 
unemployed, it may not be too much to say, that 100,000 acres 
allotted to cottagers as garden ground, will give a produce equal to 
what 150,000 acres cultivated in the ordinary way would give, and 
that without occupying more of the time they would otherwise give 
to the farmers who employ them, than the cultivation of 20.000 acres 
would require. 



APPENDIX. 647 

from land, still the greater number will ; and it may have 
the effect of making those industrious who would not other- 
wise have been so. When circumstances will admit of it, 
their having land enough to enable them to keep cows is 
the most desirable thing for them ; but a very great part 
of the island will not, in my opinion, allow of that system 
being pursued. Where there is hardly anything but ara- 
ble land, and also in the neighbourhood of large towns, the 
value of grass land is too great to allow of labourers rent- 
ing it with advantage ; a garden may, however, be allotted 
to them in almost every situation, and will be found of in- 
finite use to them. In countries where it has never been 
the custom for labourers to keep cows, it would be very 
difficult to introduce it ; but where no gardens have been 
annexed to the cottages, it is sufficient to give the ground, 
and the labourer is sure to know what to do with it, and 
will reap an immediate benefit from it. Of this I have had 
experience in several places, but particularly in two pa- 
rishes near Newport Pagnell, Bucks, where there never 
had been any gardens annexed to the labourers' houses, 
and where, upon land being allotted to them, they all, 
without a single exception, cultivated their gardens ex- 
tremely well, and profess receiving the greatest benefit 
from them. I beg to observe, that when I mention cow- 
pastures, I also suppose there to be a sufficiency of land to 
enable the cow to be kept tolerably well both in summer 
and winter : if that is not the case, I believe that the cow 
is but of little benefit to the owner; and when I mention 
gardens, I always mean large gardens, from half a rood to 
a rood, or more, if the land is poor. Those very small spots 
of a few square yards, wdiich we sometimes see near cot- 
tages, I can hardly call gardens : I think there should be 
as much as will produce all the garden-stuff the family 
consumes, and enough for a pig, with the addition of a 



648 APPENDIX. 

little meal. I think they ought to pay the same rent that 
a farmer would pay for the land, and no more. I am per- 
suaded that it frequently happens that a labourer lives in a 
house at twenty or thirty shillings rent, which he is unable 
to pay ; to which, if a garden of a rood was added, for 
which he would have to pay five or ten shillings a year 
more, that he would be enabled, by the profit he would 
derive from the garden, to pay the rent of the house, &c., 
with great advantage to himself. 

As I before mentioned, some difficulties may occur in 
establishing the custom of labourers keeping cows in those 
parts of the country, where no such custom has existed : 
wherever it has or does exist, it ought by all means to be 
encouraged, and not suffered to fall into disuse, as has been 
the case to a great degree in the midland counties, one of 
the causes of which, I apprehend to be, the dislike the 
generality of farmers have to seeing the labourers rent any 
land. Perhaps one of their reasons for disliking this is, 
that the land, if not occupied by the labourers, would fall 
to their own share ; and another, I am afraid, is, that they 
rather wish to have the labourers more dependent upon 
them, for which reasons they are always desirous of hiring 
the house and land occupied by a labourer, under pretence 
that, by that means, the landlord will be secure of his rent, 
and that they will keep the house in repair. This the 
agents of estates are too apt to give into, as they find it 
much less trouble to meet six than sixty tenants at a rent- 
day, and by this means avoid the being sometimes obliged 
to hear the wants and complaints of the poor : all parties, 
therefore, join in persuading the landlord, who, it is natural 
to suppose (unless he has time and inclination to investi- 
gate the matter very closely), will agree to this their plan, 
from the manner in which it comes recommended to him ; 
and it is in this manner that the labourers have been dis- 



APPENDIX. 649 

possessed of their cow-pastures in various parts of the mid- 
land counties. The moment the former obtains his wish, 
he takes every particle of the land to himself, and relets to 
the labourer, who, by this means, is rendered miserable, 
the poor-rate increased, the value of the estate to the 
landowner diminished, and the house suffered to go to de- 
cay ; which, when once fallen, the tenant will never 
rebuild, but the landlord must, at a considerable expense. 
"Whoever travels through the midland counties, and will 
take the trouble of inquiring, will generally receive for 
answer, that formerly there were a great many cottagers 
who kept cows, but that the land is now thrown to the 
farmers : and, if he inquires still further, he will find, that, 
in those parishes, the poor-rates have increased in an 
amazing degree, more than according to the average rise 
throughout England. It is to be hoped, that as the quan- 
tity of land required for gardens is very small, it will not 
excite the jealousy of the farmers. 

I must, however, say, that I do by no means allude to 
all farmers, or to all agents of estates ; for I can, with 
truth say, that I know a great many farmers who are con- 
vinced of the utility of letting land to labourers, and who 
have voluntarily given up land to be applied to that pur- 
pose, notwithstanding they had leases ; and I also have the 
pleasure of being acquainted with agents of estates, who 
have the most proper and liberal ideas upon these subjects. 
I cannot conclude without expressing my he arty wish for 
the success of the General Inclosure Bill which you are 
now framing, particularly as I know that it is your wish 
and intention carefully to guard the rights of the cottager, 
and to consult the interest of the labourer. By the atten- 
tion of the legislature, a great deal may be done ; but still 
an infinite deal more must depend upon the proprietors of 
estates. I therefore hope that some more able advocate 



650 APPENDIX. 

than I am will plead the cause of the labourers, that all 
the landowners in the island may be convinced of the ne- 
cessity of attending to the comfort and happiness of those 
most useful members of society. 

I have the honour to be, Sir, 
Your most obedient humble servant, 

WlNCHILSEA. 

Sir John Sinclair, Bart., &c. &c. 



Note F. p. 566. 

In Mr. Sadler's version of the Book of Psalms, the main 
object which he always kept in view, was, a close and 
almost literal adherence to the text in common use. The 
lxviiith, which is given below, is almost the only instance 
in which he allows himself to use any freedom. 



PSALM LXVIII. 

Let God arise, and be his foes 
Scatter'd before his awful look ; 
Let those that hate him and oppose, 
Flee, by his swifter wrath o'ertook ; 
As smoke before the winds of heaven, 
As wax amid the rage of fire, 
Before his face dissolv'd and driven, 
May all his impious foes expire. 

But may his awful presence fill 
His chosen flock with boundless joy, 
Sing unto God, sing praises still, 
The eternal God exalt on high ; 



APPENDIX. 651 

Extol him on the heavens who rides, 
And in the pillar 'd clond or flame, 
From thence his chosen people guides, 
Your God, ye joyful hosts proclaim. 

God from his high and holy place 
Still o'er his own in pity hends; 
The father of the fatherless, 
The friendless widows he befriends ; 
He bids the sigh of sorrow cease, 
He breaks the captive's heavy chain ; 
Breathes o'er his flock celestial peace, 
While rebel hosts his wrath sustain. 

Jehovah, when thou wentest forth, 

And marched'st through the wilderness, 

Then dropp'd the heavens, and shook the earth, 

And fled the sea before thy face : 

E'en Sinai's lofty summits bow'd 

While awful signs and sounds forthtell 

The presence of th' approaching God, 

The mighty God of Israel. 

Thou sentest, Lord, a gracious rain, 
And didst thy heritage refresh, 
And plenteous o'er the desert plain 
Thy manna shower 'd and feather'd flesh ; 
The hidden stream beside them flow'd, 
And still thy congregation dwelt 
Amidst thy mercies, — still, God, 
The poor thy constant goodness felt. 

God gave the word, and heard afar 
By countless companies proclaim'd, 
Forth from the desert rush'd the war, 
And o'er devoted Canaan flam'd ; 
Kings and their armies fled apace, 
While Israel's daughters spoil'd their foes ; 
Scattered before the Almighty's face, 
Their hosts dissolved like Salmon's snows. 



652 APPENDIX. 

Though ye among the pots have lain, 
Defil'd by hard and sordid toil, 
Yet now a vast exulting train 
Ye move, and shine in Egypt's spoil ; 
So wings the dove her joyous way 
When to the day her plumes unfold, 
The silver's soft unsullied ray 
Still interchang'd with glowing gold. 

Is yonder high and craggy steep, 
Proud Bashan's hill, the hill of God ? 
Ye lofty hills, in vain ye leap, 
Onward we urge our destin'd road. 
This is the mountain of the Lord, 
In which our God desires to dwell, 
And here eternally ador'd 
Shall rest the ark of Israel. 

Lo, God ascends his seat divine, 

And twice ten thousand chariots leads, 

His train unnumber'd angels join, 

From earth to heaven the triumph spreads 

Not e'en from Sinai's brow sublime, 

So bright his sacred presence shone, 

As from the holy hill we climb, 

Where God shall dwell among his own. 

Thou hast ascended up on high, 
And in thy bright triumphant train 
Captive hast led captivity; 
Thou hast received gifts from men, 
Yea, even the rebellious prove, 
His mercy's all- victorious power, 
That God, the Almighty God of love 
Might dwell among them evermore. 

Blest be the Lord whose daily care, 
Thus loads with benefits the land; 
Our Saviour still designs to spare, 
When issuing at his dread command, 



APPENDIX. 

Death o'er the field triumphant stalks 
And deals th' inevitable blow 
On helmed heads and hair-plunrd scalps 
And lays the pride of battle low. 

I'll briDg again, the Lord hath said, 
My chosen seed from Bashan's coasts, 
As e'rst their captive sires I led, 
Through desert wilds and adverse hosts ; 
As when I brought them through the deeps, 
Again I will display my power ; 
Thy foot shalt tread on slaughter'd heaps, 
Thy dogs shall dip their tongues in gore. 

Thus have we seen thy march divine, 
Thy goings, my King and God ! 
With holy hands thy sacred shrine, 
Translated to its high abode ; 
First came the vocal choirs, the strain 
Unnumber'd instruments prolong, 
Amongst the bands a virgin train 
Mov'd to the timbrel's sound along, 

The countless congregations sprung 
From Israel's fountain next succeed, 
Chanting thy praise they pour along 
Tribe after tribe with endless tread ; 
Their ruler little Benjamin, 
And Judah's chiefs successive shone, 
The princes clos'd the swelling scene 
From Naphtali and Zebulun. 

Israel, 'tis Jehovah's hand 
That has thy strength and glory brought 
Still stablish, Lord, thy chosen land, 
And all the wonders thou hast wrought, 
Then o'er thy Salem's sacred wall 
A loftier temple soon shall shine, 
And distant kings before thee fall, 
And bring their offerings to thy shrine. 



()54 APPENDIX. 

Rebuke the company of spears, 

The monster of the reeds confound 

In vain let hecatombs of steers 

And calves unnumber'd bleed around : 

While thus with songs and dance the crowd 

Invoke their gods, and mount the car, 

Tread down and scatter far abroad 

The people that delight in war. 

Then Egypt's princes shall repair, 
A peaceful band to thine abode, 
And Ethiopia from afar 
Shall soon stretch out her hands to God ; 
The song of praise from clime to clime, 
Shall spread, and o'er earth's kingdoms fly, 
And swelling down the stream of time 
It's echo fill eternity. 

He on the heaven of heavens sublime 
Rides, and in awful thunders rolls, 
And thence his mighty voice, all time, 
All space, all being still controls ; 
To him ascribe ye power divine, 
Wisdom supreme, unwearied love, 
Whose glories o'er his Israel shine 
And fill his shining courts above. 

God, how terrible art thou, 
From where thy presence deigns to dwell, 
When smokes thy wrath against the foe 
And burns e'en to the lowest hell, 
That presence, which shall ever shine, 
Auspicious from thy blest abode, 
The source of Israel's strength divine, 
For ever blessed be our God. 



APPENDIX. 655 



PSALM XXIX. 

Give unto the Lord, 
Ye mighty, give praise ; 
Give unto the Lord 
All glory and grace ; 
Approach in the duty 
Of worship his shrine 
And still in the beauty 
Of holiness join. 

The voice of the Lord 
Midst darkness on high 
And water-floods heard 
Now burst from the sky. 
The winds who controlleth 
And waves by his word 
Now gloriously rolleth 
The voice of the Lord. 

The voice of the Lord 
The Cedar-trees breaks, 
Hills melt at his word 
The wilderness quakes, 
Yea, Lebanon boundeth 
And leaps like a herd, 
And Sirion resoundeth 
The voice of the Lord. 

The voice of the Lord 
His anger proclaims, 
The voice of the Lord 
Divideth the flames ; 
The wilderness quaketh 
Rebuked by his ire, 
Yea, Kedesh he shaketh 
With tempests of fire. 



656 APPENDIX. 

The voice of the Lord 
His presence proclaims, 
On Kedesh is poured 
A tempest of flames ; 
The forests are lighted 
And fires roll along, 
The thickets were frighted 
The hinds cast their young. 

The voice of the Lord 
Thus speaking aloud, 
His name be adored 
His courts let us crowd ; 
There full of his wonders 
Our tongues let us raise 
And mix with his thunders 
The voice of our praise. 

The Lord sits upon 
The tempest and flood, 
He speaks — they are gone, 
He reigneth — our God 
The Lord still shall strengthen 
His flock, and increase ; 
And to them shall lengthen 
The blessings of peace. 



PSALM LXXVI. 

In Jewry is Jehovah known, 
His name is great in Israel, 
In Salem is still his sacred throne, 
In Zion he vouchsafes to dwell. 

And there he brake the sword, and shield, 
And quenched the arrow winged with fire, 
And rode triumphant o'er the field, 
And bade the war at once expire. 



APPENDIX. 657 



Thou, Zion, art more glorious far, 
Than all the mountains of thy foes, 
In vain with fierce and impious war, 
Their hosts thy hallowed wall enclose. 

They slept intent on morrow's toil ; 
They dreamt of spoils from conquest drawn 
But they themselves became that spoil, 
They slept the sleep that knows no dawn. 

The warrior's hand yet grasps the spear, 
The harness'd steed is in his stall, 
Close by his car the charioteer, 
But still, and cold, and lifeless all. 

They fell at thy rebuke, O God, 
How dire their sleep! more dreadful far 
The deathful silence of the crowd, 
Than all the rush and din of war. 

Thou, thou alone, art to be fear'd, 
Ah ! who shall in thine anger stand, 
Thou who in judgment hast appear'd, 
And saved a meek defenceless land. 

From heaven thy judgment issued forth, 
No human hand perform'd thy will, 
No human eye beheld, — the earth 
Sole witness, trembled and was still. 

Surely the wrath of sinful man 
Shall praise thee, and thy will perform ; 
Thou its remainder shalt restrain, 
And calm at once the restless storm. 

O vow, and pay your vows to God, 
Recount his glorious triumphs o'er. 
Ye nations, to his temple crowd, 
Bring presents, and his name adore. 
2 U 



(358 APPENDIX. 

He shall the pride of princes quell, 
And lay the boastful warrior low : 
His wrath resistless, terrible, 
The impious kings of earth shall know. 



PSALM LXXXVII. 

Deep in yon high and hallowed hills 

Are his foundations laid ! 
There God, infinity who fills, 

His earthly seat has made ; 
And loves than Jacob's dwellings more 

The gates of his abode ; 
Thy glory spreads the nations o'er, 

Thou city of our God. 

While heathens, boastful of their birth, 

Egyptian plains admire, 
Or Babylon, the pride of earth, 

Or sea -commanding Tyre ; 
Or fierce Philistia's warlike towers, 

Or Rahab's high abode, — 
A happier natal seat is our's, 

The city of our God. 

While these in ruins old shall leave 

A scarce remembered name, 
New honours Zion shall receive, 

New sons her praise proclaim; 
Established by his power divine, 

Her gates the world shall crowd ; 
A new Jerusalem shall shine, 

The city of our God. 

Soon shall the Lord the nations count 
And write his people's name ; 

Then shall thy sons, O holy mount, 
Eternal honours claim ; 



APPENDIX. 659 

Then wake, ye tongues, ye tuneful strings, 

His courts, his altars crowd ; 
In Thee are all my living springs 

Thou city of our God. 

PSALM XC. 

Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place, 
Our refuge still from ancient days ; 

But ere to man thy bounties flow'd, 
Before the mountains were brought forth, 
Or thou hadst form'd the heavens and earth, 

From everlasting thou art God ! 

A thousand ages in thy sight, 
Quick as the watches of a night, 

Succeed, and seem as yesterday; 
Years roll on years, a restless stream, 
And pass for ever, as a dream, 

That fades before the morning ray. 

But man, how short his mournful date, 
Fallen from his first immortal state, 

Thou bidst him to his dust return; 
He blooms, to flourish but an hour 
And fade for ever, like a flower 

Cut down and wither'd since the morn. 

Sin blasted his immortal blooms, 
And wrath his lingering life consumes, 

Which like a mournful tale he spends ; 
"While full before thy flaming eyes, 
Each secret sin uncover'd lies, 

And judgment o'er his soul impends. 

Our threescore years and ten below. 
Or added days of toil and woe, 

Shall soon be all for ever flown ; 
But who can know thy wrathful power, 
Which burns beyond death's fearful hour 

In everlasting worlds unknown. 
2 U 2 



660 APPENDIX. 

spare us, save us, God of grace! 
Teach us to number so our days 

That we to wisdom may apply ; 
O Lord how long % return, relent, 
Thy guilty servants bid repent, 

Believe, and live, and never die. 

O satisfy us with thy grace, 

So shall we spend our transient days 

Rejoicing in redeeming love; 
Affliction we shall fear no more, 
Life shall be peace, and death the door 

To everlasting life above. 

The work of grace thus may we know, 
Thy glory to our children show, 

Thy beauty be upon us, Lord ! 
Establish, for they all are thine, 
Establish thou our works divine, 

And be thyself our great reward. 



PSALM XCIII. 

The Lord Jehovah reigns, 

With majesty array'd, 
And girt with strength divine maintains 

The world he made ; 
Thou ere the world began 

Establishedst thy throne, 
And while eternal ages ran, 

Didst reign alone. 

The floods lift up, Lord, 

The floods lift up their voice ; 
But mightier than their waves, thy word, 

Than all their noise : 
Thy testimonies, thus, 

O Lord are very sure, 
And holiness becomes thine house 

For evermore. 



APPENDIX. 661 

PSALM CXXIL 

They said* while joy my heart o'erflow'd, 

Come, go we to the house of God ; 

Soon, O Jerusalem, our feet 

Within thy hallow'd gates shall meet : 

Jerusalem a city stands 

Compactly built by heavenly hands ; 

And onwards, thronging all the road, 

The tribes go up to worship God. 

As near the hallowed hills we draw, 
We lift our eyes, our hearts, with awe ; 
There judgment sits, there stands the throne 
Of David and of David's Son : 
We join our prayers for Zion's peace ; 
Her lovers prosper and increase ! 
Peace be within her walls, and bless 
Her palaces with plenteousness ! 



PSALM CXXXVII. 

Reclin'd where proud Euphrates flows, 
Our hours of rest to grief we gave, 
And thought on Zion, 'till our woes 
Fell mingled with each murmuring wave ; 
Our harps on willows round us hung 
Silent, save when the fitful gale 
Sigh'd o'er the strings which wildly rung 
And seem'd our sorrows to bewail. 

Meanwhile our cruel spoilers found 

Our sad retreat, and mock'd our wrongs : 

Come, wake your harps, your God resound, 

And sing us one of Zion's songs ! 

How shall Jehovah's songs arise, 

The mirth of foes in foreign lands 1 

A silent heap his temple lies 

And ever mute its tuneful bands ? 



662 APPENDIX. 

If I forget Jerusalem 

When grief my anxious hours employs, 

If mindless of the mournful theme 

I prove amidst my dearest joys, 

never to that much-lov'd land 

Restor'd, may I his praises sing, 

Mute be my tongue, and my right hand 

Forgetful of the vocal string. 

Ye asked a song ! the song divine 
Comes full of our prophetic God ! 
Edom who bade you raze his shrine, 
Edom shall feel his vengeful rod : 
But, daughter of proud Babylon, 
See in our doom thy mightier woes ; 
The wrath, the ruin comes, when none 
Shall tell where thy proud turrets rose. 



Note G. p. 614. 

If we venture to offer a hasty outline of a National 
monetary system, it is with a full sense of the various 
difficulties which must be overcome, before any such scheme 
could be put into operation. We are aware that Charters 
and Acts of Parliament innumerable must be rescinded or 
repealed ; and all the obstacles which large and various 
interests could interpose, be overborne. Still however, we 
remain of opinion, that the present system is so utterly 
vicious in principle, and so extensively calamitous in prac- 
tice, that no statesman worthy of the name, can much longer 
permit its continuance. 

Nothing can be more certain, than that fluctuations in 
the currency cause fluctuations in trade ; extensive en- 
largements producing high prices ; great contractions, the 
opposite extreme of a ruinous depression. 



APPENDIX. 663 

That a few trading companies of bank-note makers, in 
London, Manchester, and Liverpool, should have it in 
their power to create a sudden and fictitious prosperity at 
will, is clearly a monstrosity in legislation. 

But that the same parties should be also at liberty, when- 
ever they please, to cancel and destroy a fourth or a third 
of all the money in the country, and thus to plunge all 
persons engaged in trade and commerce into the greatest 
distress and confusion, seems so extraordinary an arrange- 
ment of one of the most important concerns of the nation, 
that if, in place of being our own case, it had been narrated 
of some distant realm or government, the folly would have 
appeared too gross to be easily credited. 

It scarcely seems possible for any principle to be more 
self-evidently true than this, — that the money of any coun- 
try ought to be exclusively issued, and absolutely con- 
trolled, by the government of that country. 

For an outline of a mode by which this should be ar- 
ranged, let the following serve. We speak of England 
and Wales only, because the facts as to the rest of the em- 
pire are not so easily attainable. 

It appears, by the experience of the last ten or fifteen 
years, that a paper-currency of thirty millions, for England 
and Wales, would suffice for the purposes of trade. At 
the present moment we have but four or five and twenty 
millions ; and from this cause chiefly, arises the existing 
distress. 

Let the government, then, have a paper-mint, for the 
coinage and issue of thirty millions of paper-money. The 
first object to be attained, should be, steadiness of supply ; — 
hence this sum should never be exceeded ; nor seldom much 
diminished. 

Its exchangability for gold should form no part of the 
plan. These notes, in fact, should be small Exchequer 






664 APPENDIX. 

Bills, bearing no interest. The interest on the National 
Debt should be paid in this paper ; and it should be re- 
ceivable for all taxes, and custom or excise duties, &c. 

One obvious advantage would be, the gain to the nation 
of the annual interest on this thirty millions, minus only 
the expence of the establishment. 

Another great benefit would be, a better system for coun- 
try banks. This might be thus arranged : 

Wherever any wealthy man or men, in a country town, 
wished to carry on the trade of bankers ; let them apply 
to the government-office for issuing paper-money ; and let 
them offer as security either funded property, or unincum- 
bered freehold land. Their offer being accepted, they 
might have to the extent of 75 per cent of their funded 
capital, or 50 per cent of their landed property, advanced 
to them in this paper-money. There would thus be only 
one description of paper-money ; which could never be- 
come worthless ; which would be equally current in Corn- 
wall or in Cumberland ; and the security of which would 
put an end to all those calamities which, in the course' of 
the last twelve months, have befallen more than twenty 
of the provincial towns of England and Wales. 

The trade of these local bankers, then, would consist in 
the legitimate traffic in money ; keeping the hoards of the 
frugal ; giving accommodation to the speculative ; paying 
to government two and a half or three per cent for the 
paper-money advanced ; and realizing four or five per cent 
from those to whom they lent it. 



L. AND G. SEELEY, PRINTERS, THAMES DITTON. 



